" data-original-title="" title="">Ada Rovatti's curiously titled album, The Hidden World of Piloo, has a tale attached (and a tail). Piloo is an affectionate name Rovatti's father has called her since childhood, after a "naughty" cat in a favorite children's book. She adopted it for her label as well (Piloo Records). Rovatti grew up in Mortara, Italy, outside of Milan, in an unusual household. Her mother was a semi-pro softball player and her dad a geologist, professional hunter and purveyor of cars. The family spent summer holidays listening to live opera and classical music in Tuscany, near where Puccini lived.

Rovatti discovered British pop early on via radio. Her brother introduced her to American soul, blues and R&B, persuading her to take up saxophone when she was 16. She took music lessons in her hometown, from a local Berklee graduate. This led her to earn a scholarship at the Boston jazz school a bit later. The school's funding was short and the tuition high, so she returned to Italy, where she and her husband,