Paolo Zou - Venus (April 1, 2022 Auand Records)

Paolo Zou, Venus

The new multifaceted, colorful album by Italian guitar player Paolo Zou, out now on Auand Records

Italian guitar player Paolo Zou’s new record, conceived over the lockdown weeks in early 2020, is intentionally nuanced and filled with different music moods. Such stylistic variety is key to Zou’s career, which includes electronic music production, reggae-ska, as well as appearances in the pop and hip-hop scene.

Released by Auand Records, “Venus” will be available on April 1st – singles from the album will pop up on all streaming platforms starting Friday, March 4th.

«Just like every composition I’ve made – Paolo Zou explains – I first figured out who I wanted to record with in my first album as a leader, then I started writing music, focusing on the musician I picked.» The lineup includes Adriano Matcovich on electric bass (plus vocals on one track) and Dario Panza on drums.

«On our first rehearsal – Zou recalls – there was immediately a deep understanding with the three of us, and a very similar approach to jazz and improvised music. When it comes to writing, I usually do everything at home, on paper, often including bass and drums. Agreeing with them on basically everything music-related was a breeze! We all have an open, inclusive mind. And we share a varied taste in music: ranging from jazz, trap, soul, and pop, to classical.»

“Venus” is a colorful, richly nuanced album, partly because of Zou’s personal experience: a slight form of synaesthesia, which allows him to feel a connection in sounds, colors and shapes. He decided to highlight this specific aspect of creativity – something that has intrigued artists, writers and poets, such as Baudelaire and Kandisnky, over the centuries.

«In this album – he adds – I wanted to make room for the colors evoked by songs, regardless of who wrote them. This is why every track title (except for some interludes) recalls an object with the color of that track: Venus is yellow, Orhis is red, Covellite is blue, Adamite green, while Is Arutas is white.»

1 Seahorse #1

2 Is Arutas

3 Seahorse #2

4 Orhis

5 Seahorse #3

6 Covellite

7 Seahorse #4

8 Venus

9 Seahorse #5

10 Adamite

11 Seahorse #6

12 Black Onyx

Paolo Zou - guitar

Adriano Matcovich - electric bass

Dario Panza - drums

Recorded at Jedi sound Studio on October 30-31, 2020 by Jesse Jermanò.

Mixed at Jedi Sound Studio in February 2021 by Alessandro Donadei.

auand.com

PRE-ORDER

Barber Mouse - Heretic Monk (March 11, 2022 Auand Records)

Barber Mouse, Heretic Monk

A heretic approach might be the best way to deal with Monk

Italian double bass player and composer Stefano Risso has a long experience in working with acoustic and electronic music. He connects avant-garde with tradition, improvisation with songwriting, to create a unique soundscape.

He formed the Italian trio Barber Mouse along with drummer Mattia Barbieri (who collaborated with Richard Galliano) and pianist Fabrizio Rat (a popular name in France, well-known for his techno/contemporary music skills) around 15 years ago. Their debut studio album, released by Auand in 2012, was a tribute to electro-pop band Subsonica, one of the most popular acts in Italy, and it featured Subsonica’s frontman: Samuel.

Ten years later, Barber Mouse’s second studio album is filled with many of the ideas that marked the first one: experimentation, research on timber, acoustic instruments adapted and played in a way that makes them sound like electronic instruments instead. While the first album kept away from jazz, the new one dives into it, with a tribute to a jazz giant such as Thelonious Monk, to his compositions and the standards he reinvented.

“Heretic Monk”, published by Auand Records, will be out on Friday, March 11th. The singles will appear on all streaming platforms starting Friday, February 25th.

The new material was recorded in 2011, but it remained untouched for a long time. «We don’t really know why – Stefano Risso recalls – Maybe it’s because we were carried away by the production, and in the meantime we all have walked different paths. But when listening to it again, its contemporaneity hits. When you look at your projects from afar, you can focus on the essential. I think it’s more relevant today than it was when we recorded it. This is why we wanted it to resurface today.»

Harmony is key in “Heretic Monk” – and it somehow recalls fractal geometry. Some of Monk’s signature chords in his works and piano voicings are put back to their basic outline, reduced to four-note chords and used in place of scales and more traditional chords. Following this logic, every tune in the album has been re-harmonized – even improvisations follow this rule, which limits the number of notes you can use. On the listening side, you feel like the harmony is expanding upon itself, just like the fractal structures we can see in nature – such as crystals or leaves.

«The prep work before recording has been quite long. We were somehow forced to get rid of any language stereotype to play with this four-note chord approach. We couldn’t use familiar phrasing because it wouldn’t fit. So we’ve studied and rehearsed hard to make our way through such strict harmonies – even if they are respectful of the original ones, they are also quite distant from them.»

«I think the major element in this album – Fabrizio Rat adds – is the process of transforming existing music. It’s like being in front of a language you know, after you forgot it because of amnesia. We found ourselves interpreting those signs with a new logic, using harmonic rules that are quite far from the usual jazz rules, and undoubtedly pushed by our love for Monk’s limitless music.»

1 Carolina Moon (Joe Burke, Benny Davis)

2 Epistrophy (Thelonious Monk)

3 Ask Me Now (Thelonious Monk)

4 Monk's Dream (Thelonious Monk)

5 All Alone (Irving Berlin)

6 Lulu's Back in Town (Al Dubin, Harry Warren)

7 Ugly Beauty (Thelonious Monk)

8 This Is My Story, This Is My Song (Fanny Crosby, Phoebe Knapp)

9 Friday The 13th (Thelonious Monk)

Barber Mouse

Fabrizio Rat - piano

Stefano Risso - double bass

Mattia Barbieri - drums

auand.com

PRE-ORDER

Rosario Di Leo - Homotempus (Auand Records)

Rosario Di Leo, Homotempus: Distant worlds and different genres in the Sicilian pianist and composer’s new album

An enthusiastic and curious musician, Italian pianist and composer Rosario Di Leo has always approached music (and art in general) with a free, inquisitive spirit. Sicily-born and well-traveled, Di Leo is now releasing his new album “Homotempus” on Auand Records. Besides contemporary jazz, this work embraces prog, film and classical music.

«I do prefer not to define it at all – Di Leo says – since a definition is also a limitation. I am a music devourer, I stay away from preconceptions, although I have my preferences, of course. Too many things inspire me, so it might sound confusing. I studied Bach and grew up playing Dream Theater. I graduated in piano and jazz arrangement. I like creativity, and I see no differences. I love rigorous compositions as well as improvisation, fast rhythms as well as ethereal sounds.»

The band features longtime collaborator Riccardo Grosso on double bass, Bernardo Guerra on drums and Korea-born, Sicily-based Sunah Choi on cello. Even if all of them are amazing players – as Di Leo adds – Choi stands out in the project. «She is the real distinguishing feature of this work. I’ve always thought about the cello sound for my music, and she takes it to new, exotic soundscapes. I am always looking for inspiration from Eastern and Middle-Easter sounds, and her contribution was essential in these compositions.»

Released under Auand Records, “Homotempus” will be avabilable on Bandcamp from January 7, 2022. Singles will start being available (biweekly) on all streaming platforms from December 10, 2021.

The 11 tunes in the tracklist belong to different times and places. As Di Leo recalls, some are new, while some others are much older. «There is not a central idea, but there are recurring themes. I write a lot of diverse music. Sometimes I go back to my old material, trying to enhance it, fix it or throw it away. For this album, planets started to align at some point. The right people, the right instruments, and the right timing. I’ve been working on it for three years and I never wanted to rush it. I waited until it sounded like I had it in my head.»

While the cover depicts the leader’s hometown (Centuripe, Sicily), the album title brings two Latin words together (“man” and “time”), and it reveals a philosophical approach to the concept of time: «The obsession for time, and the attempt to control it, have always affected our species. This fascinates me and disturbs me at the same time.» 

1. Flower's Life 06:02

2. Aria nuova 06:16

3. Siciltango 04:38

4. L'uomo e il tempo 05:42

5. Far Away 06:42

6. Istantanea 06:46

7. Liens 05:50

8. Strong 03:58

9. Giant Steps 03:48

10. The Dark Side Of Mid-East 05:20

11. Grandioso ad mortem 07:04

Rosario Di Leo - piano, synth, drum machine

Sunah Choi - cello

Riccardo Grosso - double bass

Bernardo Guerra - drums

Recorded at Sonoria Studio (Scordia, CT, Italy) by Vincenzo Cavalli

Mixed by Vincenzo Cavalli and Rosario Di Leo

Mastered by Giuseppe Palmeri

Cover photo by Salvo La Spina

Graphic Design by Giulia Barbanera

Auand Records

PRE-ORDER

Giulio Gentile - Insight (January 2022 Auand Records)

Now an established name in and outside his country, multi-awarded Italian pianist Giulio Gentile has recently focused on exploring the possibilities offered by the trio, along with longtime collaborators Pietro Pancella on bass and double bass, and Michele Santoleri on drums.

«They have been essential – Gentile says –, both musically and as human beings, to complete this work. They have always believed in my music, adding the right energy to the project. We’re good friends. At first, we simply met to play something together, and then we developed a repertoire focused on my compositions and arrangements, which led to this trio. Playing with them makes me feel the trio as one person. There’s a lot of interplay and listening, which I love!»

Trying to avoid specific shapes, this album is a work on identity: «The key to this project – Giulio Gentile adds – is about us finding our musical identity. I didn’t limit myself too much when writing these tunes because I believe in composition as freedom. I didn’t wonder if it was “jazz enough” or anything, I simply put down things on paper: ideas that could mirror something about me, trying to find an original sound and leveraging everyone’s strengths.»

Although difficult structures and polyrhythms abound, “Insight” is centered on melody, both in themes and improvisation. And it gets personal. «After writing some of these tunes I realised I put a lot of myself in them: ideas, thoughts, wishes, fears. This is why I picked this title: it’s me trying to communicate my vision through my music. I imagined “Mankind to Earth” as a dialogue between humanity and Planet Earth. Mankind begs for mercy, trying to be forgiven for everything has been (and is being) done to Earth. And there is a response, in “Earth to Mankind”, which I made more chaotic and rough, insisting on one melody that repeats from beginning to end. This sense of chaos and mess made me think of the inner, stronger and destructive face of nature, which I tried to convey using a 9/8 clave rhythm.» 

1. Hope 07:26

2. Cremisi 05:31

3. Throw The Stone 08:26

4. Mankind To Earth 08:53

5. Earth To Mankind 02:41

6. Libero 09:18

7. L'Aventino 06:36

8. Fight Or Flight 09:48

9. Fortress Of Solitude 07:19

10. The End 03:09

Giulio Gentile - piano

Pietro Pancella - double bass, electric bass

Michele Santoleri - drums

Recorded, mixed and mastered by Domenico Pulsinelli and Claudio Esposito at Bess Recording Studio, Montesilvano (Italy) on September 2020

Produced by Giulio Gentile

executive producer: Marco Valente

cover photo by Diego Costantini

inner and back cover photos by Giacomo Alberico

PRE-ORDER

Gaetano Partipilo Boom Collective - LEAVE & MEET (November 12, 2021 Auand Records)

“Leave&Meet”: Gaetano Partipilo new album, featuring his Boom Collective

Out now on Auand Records

A detailed, original work on creative collaboration,

mostly conceived throughout the 2020 lockdown

Italian saxophonist Gaetano Partipilo’s new album “Leave&Meet” is the result of a very specific need: a virtual meeting, much like a distant hug, and the will to share a creative moment with musicians confined in their homes during the first Italian lockdown. It’s a complex, layered work, designed and written in spring 2020, followed by the search for the right musicians and by the recording, which mostly happened at different times and places.

«This second phase – Partipilo says –  was the hardest, because I wanted to investigate a complete lack of interplay. Sometimes the musicians who were recording a track had no idea who else would be playing that. And this phase took 8 months! The lack of interplay leads you to new scenarios because it’s like going blindly. All those usual movements, that relentlessly drive each of us to the same familiar direction, no longer happen. I could say that, despite all its damages, the lockdown offered us a creative opportunity».

“Leave&Meet”, published by Auand Records and supported by Puglia Sounds - Programmazione Puglia Sounds Record 2020/2021, will be available on CD and on Bandcamp on Friday, November 12th.

It includes 12 tracks (10 penned by Partipilo), and features 11 musicians, 2 singers, plus Partipilo himself on sax, keyboards, and synths. There will be 11 singles overall. Each of them will be released on all streaming platforms on a biweekly basis, starting from October 29th. The live show for the album launch will be on Friday, December 3rd, at Teatro Forma in Bari (Italy), supported by Node and Eskape, during the celebration of Auand’s 20th anniversary.

 «I’ve selected the musicians for this project – Partipilo adds – by looking at some specific details: first of all, their area. The Boom Collective is “made in Puglia”. Second, their age: I wanted musicians younger than me, that I never played with. They brought a fresh, exciting new vision that drove our music into something unexpected to me».

This multi-layered work can be very well summed up by the opening track, which, not coincidentally, is “Puglia”. «This track – Partipilo explains  – was written with the vocalist Angela Esmeralda. The first part is reminiscent of our video calls, something we all experienced back in those sad days. Our habits changed: we kept in touch using the Internet, through endless group calls, and remote learning. Everything changed, all of a sudden. “Puglia” is all about that time, our land, and our imaginary journey to distant places, whether it be New York, or Los Angeles, or Rio De Janeiro, while still staying put».

1 Puglia (Gaetano Partipilo, Angela Esmeralda Pepe)

2 Shero (Gaetano Partipilo, Angela Esmeralda Pepe)

3 Goldfishes (Gaetano Partipilo, Angela Esmeralda Pepe)

4 Digital Horizons (Gaetano Partipilo)

5 Celebrity (Gaetano Partipilo, Rossella Giancaspero)

6 Moving Forward (Angela Esmeralda Pepe, Gaetano Partipilo, Marco Menchise)

7 Breaking Pad (Gaetano Partipilo, Giorgio Vendola)

8 Always On (Gaetano Partipilo)

9 Refresh (Gaetano Partipilo, Joanna Teters)

10 Change My Mind (Gaetano Partipilo, Angela Esmeralda Pepe)

11 Home Sweet Home (Gaetano Partipilo)

12 A Little Melody 4 U (Federico Pecoraro)

Gaetano Partipilo: saxes, keyboards

Angela Esmeralda Pepe, Joanna Teters: vocals

Seby Burgio, Mirko Signorile: keyboards

Marco Menchise: guitar

Giorgio Vendola, Federico Pecoraro, Gianluca Aceto, Giuseppe Bassi: basses

Dario Congedo, Giuseppe Santorsola, Fabio Accardi, Dario Panza: drums

Music composed and recorded between March 2020 and September 2021 in various locations

Mixed and mastered by Tommy Cavalieri at Sorriso Studio (Bari, Italy)

Produced by Gaetano Partipilo

Executive producer: Marco Valente

auand

jazzos

bandcamp

spotify

Simone Graziano - Embracing The Future (June 2021 Auand Records)

Embracing The Future was supposed to be a different album. After three days in the studio with a beautiful Steinway & Sons, and after recording around two hours of solo music, Simone Graziano had a bizarre idea when going back home – he opened the piano cover, threw his mobile phone in, pressed Rec, and closed everything. It was the first day of the second Italian lockdown. The recorded sound reminded me of something like a piano with a gothic church echo, which intensified the final part of the sound, almost cutting off the attack. He immediately fell in love with it. There was no other sound he wanted to listen to.

This is why Embracing the future has a special sound – an emotional one. All tracks are originals – except for Billie Eilish “When The Party’s Over” – and refer to different genres: electronic, classical, and improvised music.

Simone Graziano recalls: “I’ve spent around 36 years with an instrument that always had the same sound. I could try a different model or size, or be in a different room, but the sound was always the same, more or less. Knowing exactly what was under my fingers and what reaction my playing could generate allowed me to feel calm, it was like an unchanging sense of safety – pianos, no matter the type, will always sound like that.

That uncanny sound, so different from everything I’ve ever heard before, pushed me to delve deeper, and go beyond the black and white fence of my keyboard. I started to put almost everything on the piano strings – cigarette filters, erasers, toilet paper rolls entirely decorated by my daughter. What still drives me crazy is that sense of uncertainty you feel when a sound that you considered unalterable actually changes completely by simply adding an object on it.

This sense of uncertainty reflects what I feel today about our new normal – we are forced to rethink everything we took for granted. By reflecting on our conditions, we discover new ways of connecting with the world, just like by putting a cigarette filter inside my piano I discover a new way of thinking that big black piece of furniture. I’ve posted most of my experiments to my Instagram account (hashtag #fragmentadallockdown) on a daily basis for almost two months”.

Embracing the future has been entirely home-recorded by Simone Graziano on his Yamaha C3 piano, which has been 100% modified to enhance its darkest timber. Another remarkable decision is related to the recording tools: two “omni” mics placed inside the keyboard, almost touching the hammers. As an effect, the listeners feel like their head is inside the instrument, perceiving every detail, from releasing the key, to the phalanx touching the keyboard, to the creak of the piano bench, to the sound of the pedal being pressed.

The entire work has been skillfully mixed by Francesco Ponticelli at Cicaleto Recording Studio and mastered by Stefano Bechini. Embracing The Future is Simone Graziano first piano solo album, as well as his seventh as a leader, after the Frontal quintet trilogy (Frontal, Trentacinque, Sexuality), two trio albums (Lightwalls, Snailspace), and one sextet album with Purple Whales. 

1. When The Party's Over 04:31

2. Damn Spring 02:47

3. Dora Et Les Adieux 02:54

4. Embracing The Future 01:59

5. Tancredi 02:17

6. Nihilo 03:10

7. We Will Hug Again 04:19

8. Always Whispering 03:49

9. Brahms Tears 06:15

10. Stars Behind Me 02:33

Simone Graziano - piano

All songs by Simone Graziano (published by Jazz Engine ed. mus.) except #1 by Finneas O'Connell

Recorded at Casa Graziano on October 2020 – February 2021 by Simone Graziano

Mixed at Cicaleto Recording Studio, Arezzo, Italy on March 2021 by Francesco Ponticelli

Mastered at Green Brain, Piancastagnaio (SI), Italy on April 2021 by Stefano Bechini

produced by Simone Graziano & Marco Valente

executive producer: Marco Valente

cover and inner photos by Caterina Di Perri

Pre-order

Michele Tino - Belle Époque (June 2021 Auand Records)

Belle Époque is Michele Tino's debut album, out on Auand on June 4th.

A sax player born and raised in Italy, Michele Tino comes to his first work as leader after learning the ropes with such names as Camilla Battaglia, Michelangelo Scandroglio, Alessandro Lanzoni, The Auanders, Purple Whales and Federica Colangelo “Acquaphonica”.

The tracklist, entirely penned by Tino, covers a wide timeframe as well as very different styles, influences, and moods, by merging traditional and contemporary approach. A compelling lyricism pervades every track, playing with balanced dynamics and sense of proportion.

Michele Tino formed his quartet in 2018, when he got back to Florence after finishing his studies in Amsterdam.

It still features Simone Graziano (piano, Fender Rhodes, and synth), Gabriele Evangelista (double bass), and Bernardo Guerra (drums). They met and started collaborating a long time ago, and it felt natural for him to have them in his first band as a leader. This allowed them to add a deeper understanding to their already strong relationship.

Rehearsed and played live for a long time, each composition had been carefully shaped until it fits the whole album idea of density. Last but not least, Francesco Ponticelli’s contribution was precious, as much as his Cicaleto studio where the album was recorded.

1 Truth

2 Between Hands

3 Gringo

4 L'idiota

5 Chiasma

6 Ara Pacis

7 Shark's Genocide

8 Her Choice

Michele Tino - alto and tenor saxophone

Simone Graziano - piano, Fender Rhodes, synths

Gabriele Evangelista - double bass

Bernardo Guerra - drums

Recorded at Cicaleto (Arezzo) on November 6-8, 2020 by Francesco Ponticelli

Mixed at Cicaleto (Arezzo) on December 2020 by Francesco Ponticelli

Mastered at GreenBrain on February 2021 by Stefano Bechini

produced by Michele Tino

executive producer: Marco Valente

cover photo by Maria Rosaria Santo and Guglielmo Tino

inner photos by Caterina Di Perri

Album pre-save

BandCamp

Francesco Beccaro - Upward (May 2021 Auand Records)

Francesco Beccaro, Upward

Francesco Beccaro debuts as a leader on Auand Records

A wise work that balances personal roots and cosmopolitanism

After a decade of on-stage and recording activity in New York, while also teaching at the Collective School of Music, and having just set up home in Berlin, Italian bass player Francesco Beccaro has recently finalized “Upward” – his debut album as a leader, out in stores and also on BandCamp on Friday, May 21st – in his hometown Biella, Italy.

He joins forces with Omri Abramov (sax), Tal Arditi (guitar) – both Israeli-born, Berlin-based musicians, and his brother Andrea Beccaro (drums). Another relative also pops up: their father Bruno Beccaro is the painter behind the CD cover art.

While the entire album will be available in May, seven singles are set to be out earlier on all major streaming platforms – the first one will be out on Friday, April 23rd, and the other six will follow every other week, until July 16th.

Highly energetic, intense, and improvisation-heavy, “Upward” relies on layered structures. It’s a sort of fusion music favoring a raw yet evocative sound that reminds of Metheny, Zawinul, Mehldau, Scofield, as well as of pop-rock, Bowie, Prince, Radiohead, and D’Angelo.

«I met Omri – Beccaro recalls – when I landed in Berlin, and we immediately bonded. He’s a great musician with a 360-degree perspective. And I met Tal even earlier, before officially moving to Berlin, while I was still trying to get a sense of the city. His approach struck a chord. He was willing to play and experiment new things. He’s such a pure talent that it would be a shame to let him go. My brother Andrea was a predictable choice. I grew up with him, musically speaking. He can read my mind. That’s why he is also a co-producer: we made every choice together. And we shared so much! We toured 3 continents in different scenarios ranging from 30 to 30 thousand people, and recorded on stage and in studio. We know each other so well that playing together comes naturally.»

Composed over several years, most of the tracks date back to Beccaro New York years, others were penned in Berlin and Italy. They show a sense of cinematic storytelling, partly revealing his background as a composer for dance performances and documentaries.

«My idea of music – he says – is quite simple: trying to convey something to the listener. This album draws heavily from daily life, including all political and social matters that shape its quality. Each track tries to send a clear message and aims at involving the listener in an emotional journey. I believe you can sense moments of rebellion, melancholy, positivity, or just an easy grooving-along feeling. I wrote “Via Vespucci” when walking back home on Graham Avenue in Brooklyn, along those two blocks called, you guessed it, Via Vespucci. I was lost in my thoughts, while the sunset over the buildings and the streets made me feel a sense of adventure, as if I were a cowboy discovering new frontiers. “Territorio Barbaro” was written when I got back to Italy, with that melancholy of leaving friendships built over a decade. “No Breakfast Blues” is exactly what it seems: a tune written as soon as I woke up, before breakfast, and there’s nothing like the early morning blues! “Rocky” poured spontaneously when Trump won, and I believe my feelings are quite clear in that track.»

1  Rocky

2  F1

3  No Breakfast Blues

4  Via Vespucci

5  Territorio Barbaro

6  Slow Walker

7  J.W.

Francesco Beccaro - bass

Omri Abramov - tenor sax

Tal Arditi - guitar

Andrea Beccaro - drums

Recorded at Il Pollaio, Ronco Biellese (BI), Italy on February 15th 2020 by Piergiorgio Miotto

Mixed at Léon’s Farm Studio, Venlo, The Netherlands on June 2020 by Léon Bartels

Mastered at Kerseboom Mastering, New York, USA January 8th, 2021 by Nate Wood

Produced by Francesco Beccaro

Co-produced by Andrea Beccaro

Executive producer: Marco Valente

Cover artwork: Aiguille Noire de Peuterey by Bruno Beccaro 

Inner photos by Damiano Andreotti

First singles released

Album pre-save link

BandCamp

Il Sogno - Graduation (April 2021 Auand Records)

“Graduation” è il nuovo album di Emanuele Maniscalco 

con il trio italo-danese Il sogno

Pubblicato da Auand Records e co-prodotto da Gotta Let It Out è frutto 

di una commissione del Teatro Grande di Brescia

L’album, di notevole ricchezza, quasi 80 minuti di musica, uscirà in CD, doppio LP e su BandCamp venerdì 7 maggio. Una versione più breve pensata per lo streaming, sotto forma di 10 singoli, sarà disponile da venerdì 9 aprile, per proseguire poi fino al 13 agosto. “Graduation”, che nasce grazie a una commissione della Fondazione del Teatro Grande di Brescia, che lo ha interamente finanziato e ne ha ospitato la realizzazione, è pubblicato da Auand Records e co-prodotto da Gotta Let It Out.

Pur nell’estrema varietà di atmosfere, oniriche (né poteva essere diversamente dato Il programmatico nome del trio) ma anche ritmicamente pulsanti, l’intera opera è caratterizzata da una originale identità sonora in cui prevale una dimensione più pop ed elettronica rispetto ai precedenti lavori, esclusivamente acustici, del trio. La scelta di mantenere acustica la sezione contrabbasso-batteria ma di utilizzare un vecchio Wurlitzer con effetti e un polysynth analogico al posto del piano a coda ha consentito di mettere mondi apparentemente molto diversi in una relazione profonda e omogenea.

Vi si trovano improvvisazioni libere di varia durata, alcuni brani scritti per l’occasione (“Pick A Card, Any Card” e “Strings”), composizioni di Jacobson e Laumann e alcune delle cover più amate e ascoltate negli ultimi anni da Maniscalco: “Um gosto de sol” di Milton Nascimento, “Turiya And Ramakrishna” di Alice Coltrane e, infine, un tema musicale di Fiorenzo Carpi che affonda nei suoi ricordi d’infanzia.

«“Theme for Sweet Pea” – come confida – è tratto dal delicatissimo, visionario film di Peter Del Monte “Piso Pisello” del 1981, un film che vidi per la prima volta da bambino e la cui splendida colonna sonora firmata da Fiorenzo Carpi mi è rimasta impressa per tutti questi anni, anche perché ogni tanto mio padre la suona ancora oggi. Nel rivederlo, pochi anni fa, ho pensato immediatamente che questo trio sarebbe stato perfetto per riprenderne un tema».

1 Um Gosto De Sol

2 Il Ritorno

3 Croatian Jungle

4 Pick A Card, Any Card

5 Shakers

6 Turiya & Ramakrishna

7 Strings

8 Longings

9 XII

10 Hope

11 Western Theme

12 Layers

13 Ostinato

14 Radio Free Brescia

15 Theme From Sweet Pea

Emanuele Maniscalco - Wurlitzer, synths

Tomo Jacobson - bass

Oliver Laumann - drums, percussion

Recorded at Teatro Grande Brescia on October 2019 by Michele Marelli

Mixed by Michele Marelli and Emanuele Maniscalco at Monolith Studio, Brescia

Mastered by Micha? Kupicz in November 2020

Produced by Emanuele Maniscalco

Executive producer: Marco Valente

Supported by Fondazione del Teatro Grande di Brescia

Pre-order

Enrico Degani - Daily Diary Of A Robot (April 23, 2021 Auand Records)

“Daily Diary Of A Robot”, Enrico Degani new album

Out now on Auand Records 

First solo album for the Italian guitar player and composer

A research on a new digital humanism

Four digital EPs (released monthly) and one CD make up the original and complex structure of Italian guitar player and composer Enrico Degani new release on Auand Records.

 

The four EPs will be out every second Friday of the month, starting from April 9th (the others will be on May 14th, June 11th, and July 9th). The CD, which will include the entire work, will be released on April 23rd.

 

“Daily Diary Of a Robot” is a turning point for Degani. After several collaborations in the jazz scene (Louis Sclavis, Andrea Ayassot), and after working with Fabrizio Modonese Palumbo (their duo album “Time Lapses” is out on Auand Records as well), Degani has decided to step up his game as an artist in his solo album, and has created an original way of expression using many different instruments. «My collaborators in this album – Degani says – are a telecaster, a keyboard, a Korg Volca Beats drum machine, a colorful Glockenspiel, a classical guitar, some small clothespins, some mics, and my voice.»

 

The four EPs are chapters of a story, each describing a different life stage of an android: birth, youth, adult age, wisdom. Dealing with a very close future, and just like in Philip Dick Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Degani reflects on the complex nature and differences between human and android beings.

 

«It all starts – Degani adds – from the will to describe the emotions of an identity that is forcefully robotic, and yet full of hopes, fears, and dreams. Every day, we experience how big the impact of the digital world is in our lives. People allow their avatars to take more and more space, and the endless shades of real personalities must navigate pressing standards. Therefore, I imagined the secret journal of a robot who, in between tasks, allows itself to linger in imperfection, to look at the sun and its shadows. A perfect machine that, ironically, can’t give away its consciousness, its identity. A machine that hesitates and astounds. Somehow, my belief (or is it just hope?) is that robots will never stop dreaming of electric sheeps either.»

 

«The music I conceived for this album – Degani ends – tries to emerge from the narrow spaces of an almost inexpressive and unchallengeable digital normal. I would say it’s an album of electronic music, however electronic tries very hard to sound analogic here. The perfection of digital leaves room to a sort of humanization of the sampled sounds, making them imperfect, searching their souls. Unlike Kraftwerk “We are the robots”, the humanization of robots prevails here. It’s not a human turning into a robot – it’s a robot turning into a human.» 

1. Loading System

2. Wake-Up

3. Raise And Walk

4. Dream

5. My Human

6. Module One

7. I Dreamt I Was Wooden Made

8. Papillons

9. Raindrops

10. Little Prayer

11. Thinking

12. Freedom Flower (Bella Ciao)

13. Shutting Down

Enrico Degani: guitars, bass, voice, synths, keyboards, groove boxes, metallophone

recorded and mixed at Flamingo studios on January - March 2020 by Enrico Degani

mastered by James Plotkin

produced by Enrico Degani

executive producer: Marco Valente

cover photo by Dana Nycz

inner photos by Dana Nycz

Pre-order

Enrico Morello - Cyclic Signs (2021 Auand Records)

Enrico Morello, one of the most creative drummers in the Italian jazz scene, to release his new album “Cyclic Signs” on Auand Records on March 19

Italian drummer Enrico Morello debut album comes after gaining experience on the need of putting together the endless inputs he received over many years of activity as a sideman. These collaborations allowed him to get in touch and play with the musicians he selected as members of his Cyclic Signs quartet – Francesco Lento on trumpet, Daniele Tittarelli on alto sax and Matteo Bortone on double bass.

Immediately and solid and synched, the members’ approach and contribution fit into Morello’s complex original compositions, and enriched them with their own vision. The Cyclic Signs driving force is to be found in the rhythms of life, and their multiple transformations. However, this album also wants to become a gesture, a moving body, a kinetic force – in other words, a dance.

«When I had to put these concepts into music», Morello explains, «I started from what I feel is more suitable to me – rhythm. I tried to subvert the predictable logic of a metered tempo by tracing unexpected and mixed paths. My aim was to give that feeling of surprise and confusion back to the listeners facing the unknown.»

«Using instruments», he adds, «that are mostly monodic allows a polyphonic development of the themes and let the music flow from silence, just like the strokes of a painter on a canvas. I focused my energy on the harmonic side of each track, conducting the different voices that create the polyphony. Following these principles, harmony keeps a central role in the big picture of these compositions, and it determines their changing music scenarios.»

«Such choices», Morello says, «led me to exploring soundscapes that have an essential timber, although their appearance is complex and well-structured. They are not so far from some traditional music productions in Central Africa, which endlessly inspired my creative research.»

1. The Forest People 04:18

2. Persephone’s Dance 04:35

3. Sometimes, During The Night 00:49

4. What Happened On The Road 07:57

5. Walking Together 01:28

6. Drills In My Brain 05:49

7. Tales De Hadas 06:40

8. Playful 01:00

9. Natural Movement 05:25

10. Quite Close 06:25

11. Ghost Truck 09:20

12. The End Is The Beginning 01:56

Francesco Lento - trumpet

Daniele Tittarelli - alto sax

Matteo Bortone - double bass

Enrico Morello - drums, qraqeb, carillon

Recorded at Cicaleto Recording Studio, Arezzo - Italy

on July 2-3, 2020 by Francesco Ponticelli

Mixed at Cicaleto Recording Studio, Arezzo - Italy

on August 6-7, 2020 by Francesco Ponticelli

Mastered at Jambona Lab, Livorno - Italy

on August 24, 2020 by Antonio Castiello

Pre-order

Weird Box - Radio Paris (April 2021 Auand Records)

Weird Box, Radio Paris

A box full of surprises that highlights the need to listen to the edges

Out April 2nd on Auand, “Radio Paris” is the new album by Weird Box, a genre-defying trio that features sax player Francesco Bearzatti (longtime member of the Auand family), Bruno Angelini on piano, rhodes and keyboards, and Emiliano Turi on drums.

Fiercely original, Weird Box is a project that challenges imagination and creates music you can listen to with your ears and also with your feet. The three musicians share collaborations, mutual respect and a strong will to follow their ideas without any music prejudice.

«I’ve been playing acoustic music with Bruno for a long time – Francesco Bearzatti says – and to listen to him on keyboards is always inspiring. On the other hand, Emiliano is a precise and skilled master of drumming, and he also has lots of experience on electronic and underground music. I like to dive into different sounds with creative musicians. That’s why I’m here.»

«Emiliano – Bruno Angelini adds – developed his own sound through his many music experiments, and has a great sense of tempo. Francesco is a fresh and unpredictable improviser, always ready to sing, dance and play in every context».

That’s why the name Weird Box fits well on Radio Paris. Their will to surprise is always intentionally down-to-earth, and willing to explore the daily life around the suburbs of Paris, where they all live and work.

«We picked the name Weird Box – Bearzatti adds – because we decided not to play any ordinary jazz or improvised music. We want to try something different, listening to the banlieu radio stations. Here is where the real differences are in the air. We all live in Paris. The music we play is jazz influenced by Paris suburban radio stations. These are poor neighborhoods, where you get to listen to a lot of rap and mostly electronic sounds. This allows us to communicate more easily with the younger generations, especially those who don’t attend music schools, music halls or jazz clubs. That’s why the album is called Radio Paris.»

All of this becomes naked melodies, powerful grooves, unleashed improvisations, unordinary electronic soundscapes – an energy always ready to explode, along with more dense, lyrical moments. It is a rich musical path, that is also rhythmically sharp and passionate, as well as filled with both collective and expressive tension, and yet geometrically balanced.

1 Why

2 Prince Of Crime

3 Déontologie Blues

4 Axis

5 Jungle 79

6 Friday

7 Hope

Francesco Bearzatti - tenor sax, clarinet

Bruno Angelini - piano, keyboards

Emiliano Turi - drums

Recorded at Artesuono Studio on september 22-23, 2018 by Stefano Amerio

Mixed at Studio Taitbout Paris on november 2018 by Emiliano Turi

Mastered by Chab mastering on february 8, 2019

Produced by Weird Box

Executive producer: Marco Valente

Cover photo by Marzia Truand

Link to major platforms

BandCamp

Giancarlo Tossani & Big Monitors - Knots and Notes (March 2021 Auand Records)

Halfway between music investigation and sociological experiment, Giancarlo Tossani's new album on Auand Records aims at putting together different generations and have them face the vast repertoire of such a multifaceted free jazz name as double bass player William Parker.

Generated by curiosity and connections (and also disconnections) between human beings belonging to different worlds, “Knots and Notes” showcases the talent of Big Monitors, a quintet led by Tossani and featuring Gabriele Mitelli (pocket trumpet, alto flugelhorn, synths), Tobia “Bobby” Bondesan (alto sax), Michele Bondesan (double bass), Andrea Grillini (drums), and a special appearance by the teenager singer Amanda Noelia Roberts (vocals on two tracks).

«We had this idea – Tossani recalls – when Michele Bondesan suggested some William Parker tunes for a live show we had scheduled. I was not a connoisseur of his vast and varied art, but I was intrigued by that: I belong to the William Parker generation, but Michele is in his twenties. When experiencing that music, what will his young generation listen to and relate to, compared to me and my musical and personal background, which belongs to different decades? This is not just a tribute, even if appropriate. It’s also a reflection on legacy and changes, repetition and difference».

William Parker’s multifaceted and huge talent, expressed through music, poetry and many other art forms, becomes the common thread in this album, embracing distant points in time. «In jazz music – the pianist says – notes are played at the same time, and they are tied together, bonded, much like the different generations connecting their languages. When I pick a musician, it’s always a matter of friendship, similarity, and fellowship. The prep work and the final edits are mine here, but I usually leave some blank space for my fellow musicians to fill when we’re working on it – I’m always surprised by the outcome. Tobia Bondesan has even come up with two themes on some of my outlines.» This is how tracks are tied together too, such as “Hunk Pappa (W. Parker) + Junk Meal”, which highlights puns and assonances of two compositions that can be paired «by affinity and change in direction.»

01 Slipped

02 In Order To Survive

03 Binding

04 Hunk Pappa Blues Junk Meal

05 Dream Flag

06 Sennit

07 Old Tears Fall Down

08 Lashing

09 Autumn Leaves Vermeer

10 Mr Reeve

11 Whipping

12 ONeals Porch

13 Hitch

Tobia Bondesan alto sax

Gabriele Mitelli pocket trumpet, alto flugelhorn, synths

Giancarlo Tossani piano, wurlitzer, virtual synths

Michele Bondesan double bass

Andrea Grillini drums

feat. Amanda Noelia Roberts voice (07, 09), lyrics (09)

Recorded and mixed at Ritmo&Blu Recording Studio,

Pozzolengo (BS) Italy on November 26-27, 2019 by Stefano Castagna

Mastered at New Mastering, Milano Italy on April 30, 2020 by Maurizio Giannotti

Produced by Giancarlo Tossani

Executive producer: Marco Valente

Pre-order

Big Monitors - Knots And Notes (March 2021 Auand Records)

“Knots and Notes” tie generations

In Giancarlo Tossani’s new album, out now on Auand

The Italian pianist leads his band Big Monitors

A lively dialogue with young artists and a tribute to William Parker

Giancarlo Tossani

Halfway between music investigation and sociological experiment, Giancarlo Tossani's new album on Auand Records aims at putting together different generations and have them face the vast repertoire of such a multifaceted free jazz name as double bass player William Parker.

Generated by curiosity and connections (and also disconnections) between human beings belonging to different worlds, “Knots and Notes” showcases the talent of Big Monitors, a quintet led by Tossani and featuring Gabriele Mitelli (pocket trumpet, alto flugelhorn, synths), Tobia “Bobby” Bondesan (alto sax), Michele Bondesan (double bass), Andrea Grillini (drums), and a special appearance by the teenager singer Amanda Noelia Roberts (vocals on two tracks).

«We had this idea – Tossani recalls – when Michele Bondesan suggested some William Parker tunes for a live show we had scheduled. I was not a connoisseur of his vast and varied art, but I was intrigued by that: I belong to the William Parker generation, but Michele is in his twenties. When experiencing that music, what will his young generation listen to and relate to, compared to me and my musical and personal background, which belongs to different decades? This is not just a tribute, even if appropriate. It’s also a reflection on legacy and changes, repetition and difference».

William Parker’s multifaceted and huge talent, expressed through music, poetry and many other art forms, becomes the common thread in this album, embracing distant points in time. «In jazz music – the pianist says – notes are played at the same time, and they are tied together, bonded, much like the different generations connecting their languages. When I pick a musician, it’s always a matter of friendship, similarity, and fellowship. The prep work and the final edits are mine here, but I usually leave some blank space for my fellow musicians to fill when we’re working on it – I’m always surprised by the outcome. Tobia Bondesan has even come up with two themes on some of my outlines.» This is how tracks are tied together too, such as “Hunk Pappa (W. Parker) + Junk Meal”, which highlights puns and assonances of two compositions that can be paired «by affinity and change in direction.»

01 Slipped

02 In Order To Survive

03 Binding

04 Hunk Pappa Blues Junk Meal

05 Dream Flag

06 Sennit

07 Old Tears Fall Down

08 Lashing

09 Autumn Leaves Vermeer

10 Mr Reeve

11 Whipping

12 ONeals Porch

13 Hitch

Tobia Bondesan alto sax

Gabriele Mitelli pocket trumpet, alto flugelhorn, synths

Giancarlo Tossani piano, wurlitzer, virtual synths

Michele Bondesan double bass

Andrea Grillini drums

feat. Amanda Noelia Roberts voice (07, 09), lyrics (09)

Recorded and mixed at Ritmo&Blu Recording Studio,

Pozzolengo (BS) Italy on November 26-27, 2019 by Stefano Castagna

Mastered at New Mastering, Milano Italy on April 30, 2020 by Maurizio Giannotti

Produced by Giancarlo Tossani

Executive producer: Marco Valente

Pre-order