Sara Battaglini - "VERNAL LOVE" (AUAND AU6013) OUT NOW

Vernal Love is Italian singer and songwriter Sara Battaglini’s new project

A cross-cutting album, Vernal Love features six italian musicians (all from Tuscany) in a delicate electronic and acoustic sound fabric. Each composition, in an intimate yet dense mood, is suspended between lightness and bitterness, between what can be seen as dreamy and illogical in human vulnerability. 

Focused on the idea of absence – not only as distance or lack of something, but also as a status, like “home” – it’s a vision of life inside and outside the bubble that keeps us both safe and in chains. It’s where we reach the farthest point from what surrounds us, and the deepest sensibility towards ourselves.

It’s a place where we all know and identify the bizarre and conflicting aspects of ourselves, where we taste the uncanny silence of perfection that makes every shade bright. It’s a hymn to balance, to love and hate, to bitterness and sweetness.

We spend our entire life hiding from a reality that we constantly try to reach. Again and again, we get out and then back in this haven that embraces us and wears us out, with no logic or distinction. We’re scared when we feel vulnerable, we’re scared when we feel free. It’s two levels, one in and one out, one above and one below. A border area where you can’t go either up or down – there’s only silence, made up of the screams that we forget.

Tracks and lyrics simply narrate points of view, different yet indivisible. With variable shapes, these seven dialogues describe total and pure love that knows how to give, but also how to take.

After releasing her debut album (Dalia) with her trio, and collaborating in such projects as Auanders’ Text(us), Sara Battaglini writes and arranges her new album for an extended lineup: the rhythm section includes Simone Graziano, Francesco Ponticelli, and Bernardo Guerra, while Beppe Scardino is on baritone sax and bass clarinet, and Jacopo Fagioli is on trumpet and flugelhorn.

With an eye on a captivating, layered sound that reveals electronic and acoustic elements, the entire album soundscape has been developed and carefully crafted in collaboration with Francesco Ponticelli.

1 Siren

2 Love Affair On The Moon

3 Birdcage

4 White

5 Am I Hysterical?

6 Dialogue

7 Eerie Day, For You

Sara Battaglini - vocals

Simone Graziano - piano, synth

Francesco Ponticelli - bass

Bernardo Guerra - drums

Beppe Scardino - baritone sax, bass clarinet

Jacopo Fagioli - trumpet, flugelhorn

Federico Pierantoni - trombone

recorded in October 2020 at Cicaleto (Arezzo) by Stefano Bechini

mixed by Francesco Ponticelli at Cicaleto (Arezzo)

mastered by Tommy Bianchi

produced by Francesco Ponticelli and Sara Battaglini

executive producer: Marco Valente

cover photo by Niccolò Chimenti

artwork and design by Vieri Cervelli Montel

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Beppe Scardino - BS10 Live in Pisa (AUAND RECORDS November 9, 2018)

Expansion and unusual combinations in a nutshell

Beppe Scardino’s BS10 out in November on Auand Records

In his new album Italian sax player and composer leads a 10 piece ensemble

Italian sax player and composer Beppe Scardino aims at recapping his career in his new album “BS10 - Live in Pisa” – in doing so, he mobilizes many colleagues to expand the soundscape as much as possible. Out in November on Auand Records, this challenging live recording is a summary of his artistic path, Scardino says: «I was looking for a summary of what I experienced over the years, ranging from rock to jazz. At the same time, I aimed at creating a contrast between acoustic and electric/electronic. The opportunity to have six brass instruments was exciting. I was ready to write extensively, while finding enough room for each musician: putting the collective improvisation first, and having solos for everyone.»

A generous dose of writing couldn’t be enough: a key element of the album is the inspiration and technique of such colleagues as Dan Kinzelman (tenor sax, bass clarinet), Piero Bittolo Bon (alto sax, bass clarinet), Mirko Cisilino (trumpet), Mirco Rubegni (trumpet), Glauco Benedetti (tuba), Gabrio Baldacci (guitar), Simone Graziano (Fender Rhodes, synth), Gabriele Evangelista (double bass) e Daniele Paoletti (drums, electric drums, effects), besides baritone sax and bass clarinet played by Beppe Scardino himself, who composed the entire track list. All the ensemble needed was a good chance which came with Francesco Mariotti (Pisa Jazz Festival) – he believed in the project and supported it, having their show in Pisa recorded live in 2017.

The result is an extremely varied music: orchestra-like parts and wall of sounds, swing moments and tributes to both music and sports masters. And even when the sound becomes dense and thick, it’s still far from free. «I wrote some compositions for this band, and added some previously unreleased material from the last couple years. Even if it might sound otherwise, every track has a guideline, a core idea to improvise around: it could be chord changes, riffs or even one note – it’s the case of the D flat, the lowest note for a baritone sax, that lies underneath “Tre”.»

The opening track “Agosto14” highlights the chromatic range of the 10 piece ensemble, followed by the easygoing “One For KD” and what could be considered the darkest track in the album, “Tre”.

«There are unusual instrument combinations that I’ve been longing to experiment for years: generally speaking, an electroacoustic/electronic rhythm section as opposed to a large brass section. And also two trumpets plus tuba, or the three bass clarinets, or even electronic drums and brass. I pretended I was writing for sci-fi movies (who didn’t?) and I think this can be heard. But I’m also quite proud of how another track turned out: it’s dedicated to the NBA player Kevin Durant. I imagined him dribbling among his opponents, and thought about the rhythm created by the basketball bouncing on the floor.

It’s fast and quite tricky, possibly the most difficult track to play – we had a tough nut to crack!» In the end, he adds, «like it or not, I’m happy this music represents me.»

Come quando si spargono tutti gli appunti sul tavolo prima di tirare le somme di un lavoro intenso, Beppe Scardino ha rovesciato nel suo nuovo disco “BS10 - Live in Pisa” gli elementi importanti di questi anni di carriera, circondandosi di un alto numero di fidati colleghi che gli permettesse di estendere al massimo lo spazio sonoro a disposizione. Il nuovo album, in uscita a novembre per Auand Records, è un progetto ambizioso, perché attraverso l’espansione il sassofonista punta in realtà a una sintesi, come spiega lui stesso: «Cercavo una sintesi di quello che mi è passato addosso negli anni, dal rock al jazz. Ma anche un’antitesi tra acustico ed elettrico/elettronico. Mi esaltava l’idea delle possibilità di sei fiati. Volevo scrivere molto, dando comunque spazio ai musicisti: privilegiare i momenti di improvvisazione collettiva e lasciare anche momenti solistici per tutti». 

Per un’impresa come questa non avrebbe potuto essere sufficiente una generosa dose di scrittura: occorrevano anche tutto l’estro e la tecnica di colleghi come Dan Kinzelmann (sax tenore, clarinetto basso), Piero Bittolo Bon (sax alto, clarinetto basso), Mirko Cisilino (tromba), Mirco Rubegni (tromba), Glauco Benedetti (tuba), Gabrio Baldacci (chitarra), Simone Graziano (Fender Rhodes, synth), Gabriele Evangelista (contrabbasso) e Daniele Paoletti (batteria e batteria elettronica, effetti), oltre ovviamente al sax baritono e al clarinetto basso di Beppe Scardino, che ha firmato tutte le composizioni. Mancava solo un’occasione, arrivata grazie a Francesco Mariotti di Pisa Jazz, che ha creduto nel progetto e offerto il suo sostegno per la realizzazione dell’album, registrato dal vivo durante il festival toscano nel 2017. 

Il risultato è una pasta sonora estremamente varia: parti quasi orchestrali e muri di suono, scatti rumoristici e momenti swinganti, tributi ideali a giganti musicali e sportivi, ma sempre con una linea guida: anche quando il magma sonoro si fa più denso, rimane comunque distante dal free. «Ho composto alcuni brani appositamente per questo gruppo, altri erano brani inediti degli ultimi due o tre anni. Anche se potrebbe non sembrare – aggiunge Scardino – tutti i pezzi hanno una traccia, un’idea su cui improvvisare: ci sono giri armonici, riff, o anche solo una nota (per esempio il re bemolle, la nota più bassa del sax baritono, che giace per tutta la durata di “Tre”). ».

Lo spettro cromatico del tentetto viene fuori già ampiamente nella traccia di apertura, “Agosto14”, passa per la scanzonata “One For KD” e attraversa “Tre”, forse il brano più dark del progetto. «Ci sono alcune combinazioni strumentali che volevo da tempo provare: in generale una sezione ritmica elettroacustica/elettronica contrapposta a un’ampia sezione fiati.

Ma anche la doppia tromba e la tuba, i tre clarinetti bassi insieme, e ancora la batteria elettronica e i fiati. In molte parti ho immaginato di scrivere musica per un film di fantascienza (chi non lo ha fatto, del resto?), e penso che questa ispirazione si senta. Sono molto fiero di un brano meno sci-fi che ho dedicato al giocatore NBA Kevin Durant: me lo sono figurato mentre palleggia tra gli avversari e ho pensato a una musica al ritmo del pallone da basket che rimbalza sul parquet.

Non poteva che essere un brano veloce e non poco arzigogolato: il brano più difficile, ci ha dato non poche gatte da pelare». E se il tentetto ha accettato questa e le altre sfide del progetto, più in generale, conclude Scardino, «sono contento del fatto che questa musica, piaccia o no, mi rappresenti».

Beppe Scardino baritone sax, bass clarinet

Dan Kinzelman tenor sax, bass clarinet

Piero Bittolo Bon alto sax, bass clarinet

Mirko Cisilino trumpet

Mirco Rubegni trumpet

Glauco Benedetti tuba

Gabrio Baldacci guitar

Simone Graziano fender rhodes, synth

Gabriele Evangelista double bass

Daniele Paoletti drums, electronics

01 Agosto 14

02 One For KD

03 1001

04 Verticamera

05 Tre

06 Patchouli

07 Giant Steps GS II

Produced by Beppe Scardino for Pisa Jazz

Executive Producer: Marco Valente

Recorded at Teatro Sant’Andrea, Pisa – Italy

Engineer: Aldo de Sanctis

Cover Photo: Piero Bittolo Bon