Her composing style stays modern without ever being airless and swing-deficient, open without getting lost in harmony and sentimentality. And her soloing is special”
[Ben Ratliff – New York Times]
New York based pianist Simona Premazzi has developed an impressive body of work as a composer and bandleader. Originally from Italy, Premazzi hails from a small town in the outskirts of Milano.
"Let Me Be Free" tribute to Cecil Taylor - Live at Buffalo CMC Jazz Festival. Simona Premazzi piano.
"Premazzi, originally from Milan, Italy and now residing in New York City, got things underway with a magnificent solo virtuoso performance. Taking eloquent improvisational playing to another level as she rolled into Miles Davis’s classic “All Blues.”
[Jazz in Buffalo concert review]
Simona Premazzi, piano
1. Rumination on Peace 09:31
2. Rumination on All Blues 08:14
Recorded live at Buffalo CMC Jazz Festival on July 26, 2018.
Recorded by Bill Sack at Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center.
Mixed and mastered by Walter Fischbacher, Brooklyn, NY.
After his critically acclaimed “Flow, Home”, his long-awaited new release
has been showcased at JAZZMI (Milan), London Jazz Festival and the Bimhuis (Amsterdam).
It features Enrico Zanisi (piano, synth), Francesco Lento (trumpet),
Glauco Benedetti (tuba, trombone) and Enrico Morello (drums)
Three years after his previous work (“Flow, Home”, 2015), Italian guitarist and composer Francesco Diodati releases “Never The Same”, his latest and long-awaited album as a leader. He’s back with the same band, Yellow Squeeds – Enrico Zanisi (piano, synth), Francesco Lento (trumpet), Glauco Benedetti (tuba, valve trombone) and Enrico Morello (drums) – and the same label, Auand Records. His name has become one of the most renowned ones in the Italian and European music scene: working and touring extensively with Enrico Rava, he has also proved his personality and innovative attitude on his works as a leader. At the core of “Never The Same” is a deep reflection on individual perceptions and team work and on the countless transformations these two elements can generate even on the most basic melody. What dominates the composing side is «several layers of sounds overlapping – Diodati says –, intertwining lines becoming mutually essential, albeit maintaining their own independence. This way of building music ensures, for example, that the same tune can be perceived in a different way by each listener. It’s like looking at the same 3D object from different perspectives, in your hands or suspended in space.» This approach generates the apparently alienating effect that can be heard on “Entanglement”, with its constantly changing rhythm. This penchant for change, like a push towards something that was not there before, is also key to understand the band’s style. «They are all very dynamic and looking for new sounds and approaches – Diodati adds – On our previous album, Zanisi played the piano, while he’s doubling on Fender Rhodes, modular synth and bass synth now. I gave Morello a ton of Burmese gongs, which I collected along my trips and live shows in Myanmar, and we played those in the intro of “Simple Lights”. Glauco Benedetti turned out so surprisingly well on the valve trombone that I rewrote some parts to add it. Francesco Lento brings so many different sounds out of his trumpet, making the timber possibilities endless. He can be truly lyric as well as angular and harsh. We often converse very fast, and this became more and more intense over the years. They are all impressive musicians. I chose them because they break boundaries, and go beyond what’s common.» As the likes of “River” show, sometimes their interplay is the starting point of an enchanting sound flow, built on the melody and ending in a dense collective improvisation.
And while they’re playing with an out-of-tune instrument, focusing on timber or exchanging roles in the lineup, the album cover also catches the eye, embracing the whole idea of the album. «The cover is the result of an art work by Sara Bernabucci, an artist I’ve been collaborating with for two years – we aim at making music and visual arts meet – and by Alberto Timossi. It’s the layering of two different arts (sculpture and painting), from two different minds, and the camera adds my point of view, making the original work of art unrecognisable. This is what I mean: looking at the same object from different perspectives, not as a preconceived approach, but with the intuitive passion of those who live through art.»
Chicago-based saxophonist and composer Greg Ward (Tortoise, Lupe Fiasco, Makaya McCraven, Mike Reed) presents a new group, Rogue Parade, featuring a quintet of heavyweight creative Chicago musicians: Matt Gold and Dave Miller (guitar & effects), Matt Ulery (bass), and Quin Kirchner (drums). Following his critically acclaimed Greenleaf debut 'Touch My Beloved’s Thought' in 2016, which was a re-imagining of the music of Charles Mingus, 'Stomping Off From Greenwood' highlights Ward’s skills as a writer and arranger with a set of eight new compositions that explore this unique two-guitar instrumentation, which blends the acoustic and electronic sonic worlds. The group honed their ensemble sound during a month-long residency in Chicago, followed by extensive touring in the Midwest, before heading into the studio to capture the band’s energy on record. In addition to the original material, the band presents Ward’s moody arrangement of the jazz standard “Stardust.”
"Excerpt 2" is an exclusive bonus track available as a download for Bandcamp purchasers only
1. Metropolis 07:04
2. Excerpt 1 02:11
3. The Contender 08:27
4. The Fourth Reverie 04:41
5. Let Him Live 04:32
6. Black Woods 08:07
7. Pitch Black 11:08
8. Stardust 05:45
9. Sundown 08:24
Greg Ward, alto saxophone
Matt Gold, guitar & effects
Dave Miller, guitar & effects
Matt Ulery, acoustic & electric bass
Quin Kirchner, drums
Producer: Greg Ward
Executive producer: Dave Douglas
Recorded, mixed and mastered at I.V. Lab in Chicago, IL, on August 5 and 6, 2017 by Shane Hendrickson
Package design and photography by Damon Locks
With assistance from Lukas Frei
All compositions by Greg Ward (Greg Ward 2 Music / ASCAP) except:
Stardust, composed by Hoagy Carmichael (Songs Of Peer, Ltd. / ASCAP) Arranged by Greg Ward.
This album was made with support from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) Individual Artist Project Grants.
The Rain Dance Collective brings together five jazz musicians from France and Venezuela. In this project, the guitarist Francisco Garrido is joined by the quartet "two saxophones, bass, drums" of Nicolas Gegout, Quentin Thomas, Antoine Leonardon and Paul Lefevre. Inspired by the aesthetic universe of artists such as Kenny Wheeler, Ambrose Akinmusire, Ben Monder and Lage Lund, the band presents music with an spacious quality, sometimes mixed with Latin music, with a solid rhythm section supporting the melodic endeavors of each soloist. Melodic themes and improvisations rub shoulders in original compositions, offering each musician a wide space for expression and creativity.
1. The Tempest 04:14
2. Olympic Hide and Seek Final 07:33
3. Blues Dots in Space 05:38
4. Luna 05:18
Nicolas Gegout - Tenor Sax
Quentin Thomas - Alto Sax
Francisco Garrido - Guitar and Composition
Antoine Leonardon - Bass
Paul Lefevre - Drums
Adrien Legay- Production
Yacine Belmahi and Seba Selame- Production in "Luna"
The original conceptual idea for the Brass Project was to set John Surman’s improvising trio with bassist Chris Laurence and drummer John Marshall at the centre of a radiant brass choir of trumpets and trombones. With John Warren invited to contribute compositions and to conduct the group, the Brass Project quickly evolved into a more organic large ensemble, and by the time of this 1992 recording had become one of the most creative configurations in Britain. The elegant arrangements of Warren’s and Surman’s profoundly melodic music inspire many eloquent and touching solos.
John Surman Soprano Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, Alto Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Piano
An album-of-the-year in US magazine High Fidelity and recipient of a 5-star review in Down Beat, Towner and Burton’s Matchbook stands up today as a timeless instance of the art of the duo, its vibrant spontaneity still alluring. The wide-ranging repertoire includes Ralph Towner’s classic tune ”Icarus”, Charles Mingus’s farewell to Lester Young, “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat”, and Leonard Bernstein’s “Some Other Time” (“a meticulously plotted melody that spurs some of the record’s loveliest interaction.
Chick Corea’s first unaccompanied album initiated the solo piano idiom at ECM, and proved to be extremely influential. Alongside music created in the moment, some powerful melodies are explored here, not least that of “Sometime Ago”, soon to be a theme song for the Return To Forever band. “I found it quite easy to select what I felt was the single best disc [of 1971]. Chick Corea’s Piano Improvisations Volume One is a true masterpiece of music and a very important album” - Michael Cuscuna, Record World.
- Michael Cuscuna, Record World
Chick Corea Piano
1 NOON SONG (Chick Corea) 04:04
2 SONG FOR SALLY (Chick Corea) 03:45
3 BALLAD FOR ANNA (Chick Corea) 02:27
4 SONG OF THE WIND (Chick Corea) 03:12
5 SOMETIME AGO (Chick Corea) 08:22
CHICK COREA - WHERE ARE YOU NOW? - A SUITE OF 8 PICTURES
First released in the spring of 1971, these historic recordings from March and July 1967 capture the sound of a genre being born in the free ballads of Annette Peacock, played with extraordinary sensitivity by Paul Bley’s trio. Annette Peacock: “Critics introduced new terms, describing this music as sparse, understated, minimal, radically lyrical. The free ballad captured the imagination of listeners for ECM and became requisite for the transformation of accomplished players.”
