Enzo Favata - Enzo Favata The Crossing (Niafunken)

Enzo Favata The Crossing are:

Enzo Favata / Pasquale Mirra / Rosa Brunello / Marco Frattini

A new album recorded after several shows in the summer of 2020. Enzo Favata The Crossing is a quartet with a progressive and contemporary attitude, mixing complex layers and themes, a travel in space and time, jazz, urban atmospheres, African and Mediterranean roots, electronica, krautrock and many other different styles. Enzo Favata, a maverick musican, producer, one of the most respected artists in the Italian jazz scene, has joined forces with Pasquale Mirra (vibraphone and midi marimba), Marco Frattini (drums) and Rosa Brunello (electric bass and double bass).

There is a special care and research in sound and production a balance between jazz interplay and dynamics, live recordings and studio sessions. “The Crossing is the band I was looking for since a long time” tells Enzo Favata “And I needed jazz players that had a new feeling and approach to compositions. Concert after concert the quartet reached a new dimension and tightness, a real band in all its aspects and the main goal was to transfer this energy into an album. I achieved this through a mix of live recordings and additional production, overdubs of keyboards and analogue synths of the 70s and other guests that provided an orchestral feeling, like the strings from Salvatore Maiore and Maria Vicentini, the cinematic vocals of Ilaria Pilar Patassini, Marcello Peghin's electric guitar and the Chinese master of guzheng, Zhan Qian.

In the studio session in February 2021 we recorded two tracks, “For Turiya” written by Charlie Haden for Alice Coltrane and a new electronic hi-energy song, “Black Lives Matter” with sampled vocals from Malcolm X, Fela Kuti and Steve Biko, a strong stand against racism, a long time problem still actual, and dedicated to the struggle of black people. The album opens with “Roots” by Ian Carr's Nucleus, legend of British jazz rock and Canterburysound, that leads to an original composition, “Turn”, featuring soprano sax, electronic instruments, vintage keyboards and organ, theremin and synths. “Salt Way” is an exploration of “fourth world music” as theorized by Jon Hassell and Brian Eno, without losing the key elements of jazz.

“Oasis” is the final track, where in 12 minutes there is a summary of many elements of the album, the love for African music through the Ethiopian scales played with bass clarinet. The recording was mixed and mastered by senior sound engineer Alberto Erre, with his deep knowledge of analogue gear, filters and compressors and the result is a warm wall of sound that can hardly be obtained with contemporary digital plug ins. 

1. Roots 09:19

2. All Names 09:33

3. Turn 08:32

4. Salt Way 11:49

5. For Turiya 05:45

6. Black Lives Matter 03:08

7. Oasis 12:14

Enzo Favata  soprano sax, indian flute , live electronics , synth

Pasquale Mirra vibraphone, marimba midi, live electronics , samplers 

Rosa Brunello electric bass, live e electronics 

Marco Frattini  drums , samples

Turn, Oasis and Salt Way were recorded live in the Summer of 2020 by Attilio Lombardo

Roots was recorded live in the Summer of 2020 by Giacomo Jakkeddu Sanna

Black Lives Matter – For Turiya

Recorded in a session in February 2021 at Carrabbuffas Studio

Sound engineer Alberto Erre

All additional instruments and keyboards recorded in February 2021

Mixing

February 2021

RockHouse Studio

Sound Engineer Alberto Erre on a Trident 1990 desk

Mixing Session - Daw ProTools HD -Desk Trident Vector 432 - Master Bus compressor Neve 33609Jd - Converter A.D Lavry Blue M.AD824. Drum ins. Valley People610+ Tubetech CL2A + Emt 140 plate reverb - Bass ins. UA1176 - Vibra ins. Manley VariMu  - Sax ins. Millennia Stt1 Producerpack tube Vs - EFX:Reverb Lexicon 224Xl + Lexicon lx480 - Tc 2290 - Eventide Eclipse - H3000se -

Mastering Session

Daw: Protools Hd - Efx Chain: Brainworx BX_digital V3 M/S plugin- Lindell 354E MultiBand Compressor plugin - Manley Massive Passive Eq Mastering Vs - Manley VariMu Compressor Mastering vs - Weiss MM-1 Limiter

Mixed and Mastered at RockHouse Blu Studio - Sassari 02-2021

Senior Chief Sound Engineer: Alberto Erre

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Domenico Caliri Cal Trio - Aria Mossa (CALIGOLA RECORDS 2018)

Tra i più importanti chitarristi jazz italiani degli ultimi vent’anni, Domenico Caliri non è, contrariamente a molti suoi colleghi, musicista discograficamente prolifico, soprattutto come leader. Proprio per questo ogni suo nuovo lavoro, sempre lungamente meditato, risulta pregnante di contenuti e non delude quasi mai i suoi numerosi estimatori.

In questo suo quarto disco per Caligola il chitarrista siciliano, ormai bolognese d’adozione, rispolvera quel Cal Trio che tanto aveva fatto parlare di sé nello scorso decennio, quando al suo fianco c’erano Antonio Borghini e Cristiano Calcagnile, poi sostituito da Federico Scettri. Da un paio d’anni – dopo la faticosa ma esaltante esperienza con l’ensemble allargato di «Camera lirica» (2014) – Caliri è tornato a frequentare la formazione a lui molto congeniale del trio, trovandosi a suonare abbastanza regolarmente con il contrabbassista Stefano Senni ed il batterista Marco Frattini.

Concerto dopo concerto è così rinato, dopo qualche anno di pausa, il Cal Trio, delineando un’identità sempre più precisa ed originale, tanto da spingere il suo leader a scrivere nuova musica e quindi a registrarla. Con l’unica eccezione rappresentata da My mind on a surf, composta nel 2013 per «Dialoghi a corde», disco registrato in duo con Ares Tavolazzi e pubblicato nel 2015 dall’Onyx Club di Matera, tutte le altre composizioni sono state scritte fra il 2015 ed il 2018; Nini G. proprio a ridosso della registrazione.

Sia i brani più impegnativi, come Aria mossa e Serpe, caratterizzati da arpeggi veloci e continui cambi di tempo, che quelli apparentemente più “leggeri” e scanzonati, come la già citata My mind on a surf o la latineggiante M’usciau, hanno in comune la ricerca di una cantabilità melodica ed allo stesso tempo l’irregolarità, spesso imprevedibile, della struttura ritmica.

Tutti i brani del chitarrista sono infatti allo stesso tempo melodici e “storti”, una caratteristica consolidata del suo stile compositivo, ed il lavoro svolto dalla solida coppia ritmica formata da Senni e Frattini per cercare di smussare degli angoli spesso molto spigolosi, risulta a tal fine encomiabile e prezioso.

Nelson Pari - Defining (2018)

"Defining," the latest EP from guitarist Nelson Pari is a showcase for his growth as a composer. At times, the music can be beboppish, straight-ahead or progressive. At all times, the music’s depth is captured in its emotion-filled melodies that are put forth and explored by a group of musicians who know what to do with such outstanding material. - Walter Kolosky (Author of Power, Passion and Beauty: The Legendary Story of the Mahavishnu Orchestra and host of the Jazz Rocks Podcast.) 

During my time in music college my teacher Giorgio Serci referred to me as a “pragmatic dreamer” and this EP is dedicated to him, as he is my favourite pragmatic dreamer of all.

1. Meet The Guv'nor

2. Over Dalston Junction

3. The Blue Arrow 1

Nelson Pari - Guitar

Simone La Maida - Sax

Fulvio Sigurta' - Trumpet

Claudio Vignali - Piano/Rhodes

Stefano Senni - Double Bass

Marco Frattini - Drums