Saturday, February 13, 2016

Yuval Amihai - Longing (2015)


Label: Mouzikali
Source: Citizen Jazz


Trois ans après le remarquable premier disque de son Ensemble, le guitariste Yuval Amihai réduit la voilure et se présente cette fois en trio : il conserve à ses côtés le batteur Gautier Garrigue et intègre à sa formation le contrebassiste Damien Varaillon. Longing – un titre qu’on pourrait traduire par désir – frappe d’emblée par l’impression de paix qui s’en dégage et par la lumière qui l’irrigue tout au long des neuf thèmes qui le composent. Le lyrisme mémoriel qui caractérisait l’album précédent et le faisait chanter cède la place à une évocation intimiste, comme une confidence glissée au creux de l’oreille.
Tout est douceur et élégance dans ce Longing dont la volonté de proximité est soulignée par une instrumentation épurée et l’exposition des mélodies sous forme de ballades au rythme d’un matin calme : fluidité du son de la guitare qui jamais ne recourt aux effets, comme pour mieux perpétuer l’héritage d’un Wes Montgomery ou d’un Jim Hall, pulsion feutrée de la contrebasse, caresse des balais ou swing souriant des baguettes. Un disque classique en quelque sorte, au sens le plus intemporel du mot, mais certainement pas une évocation passéiste. Et comme pour mieux abattre les barrières du temps, les rendre imperceptibles et en démontrer la vanité, Yuval Amihai choisit un répertoire mêlant standards et compositions originales. Si les premiers sont les plus nombreux (six titres sur neuf), la musique jouée est ici une et indivisible. « Skylark », « Lover Man », « Sandu » ou « My Romance » ont le même âge – l’éternelle jeunesse – que les petits nouveaux, « Longing » et « I Understand Now », signés par Yuval Amihai, ou encore le magnifique « Forest, Forgive Them », longue composition (plus de dix minutes) de Gautier Garrigue, peut-être le moment le plus émouvant d’un album dont on ne peut que constater avec ravissement les beautés formelles.
Avec Longing, le guitariste veut à la fois célébrer le chant de son enfance en Israël et cette musique qu’il aime par-delà les frontières et qui le nourrit depuis toujours, ce jazz puisé aux sources de l’Amérique qui, loin d’être mort comme on ne cesse de l’annoncer depuis des décennies, est bien vivant. Yuval Amihai en fait ici la démonstration scintillante.


1. Skylark 05:04
2. Questar 04:50
3. Lover Man 08:16   
4. Sandu 05:14
5. Forest, Forgive Them 10:03
6. Longing 05:15
7. I Understand Now 04:47
8. My Romance 03:26
9. Without a Song 05:05  


Yuval Aminhai - guitar
Damien Varaillon - bass
Gautier Garrigue - drums


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Baptiste Herbin - Interferences (2016)


Label: JL Prod


"Après « Brother Stoon », « Interférences » le deuxième album en leader de Baptiste Herbin qui paraît chez Just Looking, confirme son exceptionnel talent. Le son de son alto a encore pris de l’ampleur, de la profondeur. Son phrasé, plus limpide s’il en était besoin, vous embarque irrésistiblement dans une histoire passionnante à chacun des quatorze morceaux. Du moderne Pour la mie, au vertigineux neobop Parker 51 de Jimmy Raney, de la belle ballade Malala au soprano au Ask Me Now de Thelonious Monk, en passant par l’incursion free de Interférences, Baptiste Herbin nous prend fermement par la main et nous emmène dans sa vision du jazz et au-delà… Ses compagnons sont de merveilleux musiciens. Ils sont brillants, et il faut l’être pour s’élever à la hauteur de l’exigence du projet. Nous pouvons être fiers d’avoir, tout proche de nous, un musicien de la valeur de Baptiste Herbin; et bien sûr d’avoir « Interférences » à écouter et réécouter". (Aldo Romano)



01. Pour l'amie
02. Reflets
03. My Friends
04. Loulou
05. Il Moi Vicino
06. Parker 51
07. Appointment in Ghana
08. Ballad for Jackie
09. Bedex
10. J'ai envie d'te dire
11. Malala
12. Mafana Be
13. Ask Me Now
14. Interférences


Sylvain Gontard – trompette
Baptiste Herbin – sax alto
Maxime Fougères – guitare
Geraud Portal – contrebasse
Benjamin Henocq – batterie



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Drew Paralic - Lyrics Without Words: Music Of Drew Paralic (2016)


Label: Filter Label
Source: Blog Critics


As composer arranger Drew Paralic puts it, although he began studying the piano over 25 years ago, he soon realized that he had started too late to play at the same level as the jazz pianists he most admired—Thelonious Monk and Bill Evans—so perhaps he’d be better off sticking to the composing and leaving the playing to others. The latest result of this realization is his self-released album of what appear to be new arrangements of at least some of his previously recorded original compositions, Wintertime Tunes of Drew Paralic, featuring an ensemble of some very fine musical talent, sans Paralic.
The CD includes four tracks of straight-ahead instrumental jazz with a blues vibe, bookended by a jaunty Christmas vocal and a lyrically uninspired love song. The four instrumentals are the heart of the album. There is one solo piano piece, “Steps,” played by James Newman. It is a melodic tour de force that would likely have appealed to any of the Paralic piano heroes.
The other three instrumentals are in the hands of a quartet. Mike McGinnis handles tenor sax and clarinet. Elias Bailey is on upright bass and Vinnie Sperrazza is on drums. David Pearl plays piano on two, and Bennett Paster takes over on one track, “Down in Soho,” a mellow bluesy tune that showcases some sweet interaction between Bailey and Sperrazza. “Finally 2001” is a swinging blues number that has some creative work on the clarinet from McGinnis. He and Pearl work magic together here and on the song “(On the Occasion) of Wet Snow.”
While Laura Kenyon, who does the vocals on “My Wintertime Sky” and “How Bill’s Heart Sings,” is a gifted songstress, I was less impressed with the songs themselves. “My Wintertime Sky” is a pleasant bauble to hang on someone’s Christmas tree; the lyrics from John Raymond Pollard are a bit too cute for my taste. “How Bill’s Heart Sings” is a little disappointing, more than likely because any song with Bill in the title has to compete in my head with Wodehouse and Kern. That’s probably not fair to Paralic and lyricist Thomas Raniszewski, but it is what it is.
You have to admire an artist willing to put aside his own ego to recognize what he considers his own inadequacies. I haven’t heard Paralic play so I wouldn’t know if he means it or he’s just being coy. I do know that there aren’t many jazz pianists who can measure up to the mark he feels he fell short of. That said, the talent he has gathered together for this album makes his music sparkle.  Jack Goodstein



01. Down in Soho [00:06:40]
02. Sweet Standard [00:04:46]
03. When Midnight Rolls Around [00:05:57]
04. The Sweetest Crime [00:04:48]
05. Too Much Joyce [00:07:31]
06. Twilight at Noon [00:05:44]
07. Drew's Blues [00:04:27]
08. Finally 2001 [00:05:00]
09. (On the Occasion of) Wet Snow [00:04:01]
10. The Arrival [00:05:43]
11. Prelude d'Ennui [00:04:20]


Drew Paralic - piano, composition
Mike McGinnis - tenor sax
Elias Bailey - bass
Vinnie Sperrazza - drums
David Pearl - piano
Bennett Paster - one track



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Matt Parker Trio - Present Time (2016)


Label: Self Released


I don’t select a Best New Artist every year like they do at the Grammies, but if I were to do that, Matt Parker would have easily taken the prize in 2013 for his standout debut album Worlds Put Together. The tenor sax maestro strikes me as a Joe Lovano with the gumption of Rahsaan Roland Kirk or Eric Dolphy, a fun combination of qualities that is so mindful of the jazz saxophone’s soulful past while giving in to impulse, an oft-forgotten tenant of what jazz is about, too.
For Present Time (February 12, 2016 by Bynk Records), Parker puts his horn into even sharper focus by paring down his band to just the rhythm section of Alan Hampton (bass) and Reggie Quinerly (drums). It means that every note blown by Parker carries a heavier load and the revelation of Present Time is that he can not only handle it, he shines brighter as the spotlight gets hotter.
Part of the secret to delivering when there’s no one there behind him handling the chord changes is being more personable in the delivery. Parker doesn’t fuss over whether he’s leaving behind too many notes or too few, as long as they carry out the right passion. No where can that be more evident than on blues numbers like “Noah’s Arc” and here he conjures up Coleman Hawkins in a particularly gruff mood. Contrast that with the cheerfulness of “Present Time,” a throwback melody played over Quinerly’s modern, almost drum ‘n’ bass beat that vacillates between 7/8 and 7/4.
Parker is fond of stretching out toward avant-garde while maintaining a connection to tradition, as “New Horizons” makes clear. His wailing notes on soprano sax with an improvising Quinerly beside him is mindful of Coltrane/Ali’s Interstellar Space except that Parker is too melodically inclined to let it get that far outside. Halfway in he ushers in a new figure with Hampton, and pours out fills of trills with Hampton pulling out the bow. He goes without any accompaniment at all for “The Gong,” making exhortations first on soprano and then tenor sax (sounding as brawny as a baritone) punctuated by strikes to a gong. On his final note, he blows through both horns in a nod to Kirk.
Parker showcases his facility for playing alongside a vocalist on a handful of songs performed with Emily Braden. Most of her performances are wordless, assuming a co-lead part that supplements Parker, but for the standard “I’m Confession’ (That I Love You)” she sings the lyrics while Parker goes into Lester Young mode. He proves to be a fine accompanist behind Braden, acting almost as a harmonizing voice, and amps up the energy level a notch for his solo turn.
The only other non-original is a Charles Mingus composition that has never been fully recorded. “Song To Keki” is a pretty reading of Mingus’ melody, but when he enters the solo portion he flies off into orbit, returning still feelin’ jaunty and improvising like no one in particular.
The days when a teenaged Parker was just getting started playing in New Orleans are alluded to in the second line pulse of “Sixteen,” with Jerome Jennings (Sonny Rollins, Christian McBride) adding tambourine. Parker cuts loose on tenor in a funky aside that surely would have filled up his saxophone case on a French Quarter street corner. It’s a nice and tidy wrap up of the whole album.
Present Time confirms the resourcefulness and playfulness of Matt Parker’s saxophone that’s so engaging and so lively. These are qualities that shine through whether he’s playing in an orchestra, sextet or this trio. Show me someone who says jazz is no fun to listen to and I’ll show them Matt Parker. S. Victor Aaron



1. Noah's Arc 04:52
2. New Horizons 06:07
3. Winter's Gone 04:11
4. One For Duke 06:05
5. I'm Confessin' (That I Love You) 04:18
6. Song To Keki 04:08
7. Present Time 07:10
8. The Gong 02:38
9. Sixteen 03:07
    

Matt Parker, tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone and gong
Alan Hampton, bass (all but 8)
Reggie Quinerly, drums (all but 8)

Special Guest
Emily Braden, vocals (3,5,7)
Jerome Jennings, tambourine (9)  


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Friday, February 12, 2016

Craig Padilla - Heaven Condensed (2016)


Currently celebrating his fourteenth year as a prolific solo artist and collaborator on the Spotted Peccary label, Craig Padilla offers up his latest outstanding solo work, Heaven Condensed, where he presents to us a world beyond time and space. 

Structured like a four-paneled work of sacred art, Heaven Condensed forges a philosophically spiritual vision of another dimension, abstracting the existence of Heaven as one might experience it either internally or externally, in four diaphanous movements that convey a wide range of organic, tangible, physical energy to amorphous, floating inspiration. 

Kaleidoscopic in its sequences of melody that meander through complex harmonies and atmospherics reminiscent of classic Berlin School masterpieces by Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream, Heaven Condensed draws from the time-tested studio practice where analog keyboards and modular synthesizers were traditionally recorded in real-time. Padilla decidedly steers his vast array of electronic instruments in an excitingly fresh exploration of the celestial currents that hover and careen past dark abyssal depths. 

One doesn’t need to be familiar with Padilla’s previous works in order to find this album accessible. The metaphorical relationships he presents through the sensuous medium of electronic textures and sound spaces will feel familiar to the soul. A capacity for delight and the sublime is the only passport one needs to embark on this sonic-space journey, which is brilliantly realized and emotionally satisfying.

Synthesizer, Sampler, Performer, Recorded By, Mixed By, Producer – Craig Padilla

1. Stonington Moon 09:24
2. Heaven Condensed 28:46
3. Across the Light 07:18
4. Heavenly Sails 28:31


JAVI

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Michel Benita Ethics - River Silver (2016)



Michel Benita is the Algiers-born double-bassist who has been an influential recent collaborator with Andy Sheppard, but though River Silver has a Sheppard-like songlike warmth, it’s a more world-folkish venture. It features the zither-like Japanese koto, atmospheric electronics (from another Sheppard sideman, Norwegian guitarist Eivind Aarset), and the mellifluous sound of Swiss flugelhornist Matthieu Michel. A quiet snare tattoo, sturdy bass countermelody and airy flugel lines mix eloquently on the dreamily cruising Back from the Moon, while the brass sound on I See Altitudes suggests 80s Miles Davis of his Tutu/Amandla era with a sleepwalking momentum instead of funk; and Aarset’s guitar builds an intensifying rockish groove on the initially purring, koto-driven Off the Coast. Yeavening is a yearning ballad for Michel’s voicelike flugel; Mieko Miyazaki’s koto feature is a lyrical sway with Benita in close attendance; and Snowed In a spacily affecting finale. It has a tranquillisingly warm-bath feel at times, but the melodies are seductive, and very delicately unfolded.


1. Back From The Moon (Composed By – Michel Benita) 5:49
2. River Silver (Composed By – Michel Benita) 4:37
3. I See Altitudes (Composed By – Michel Benita) 5:54
4. Off The Coast (Composed By – Michel Benita) 6:13
5. Yeavering (Composed By – Kathryn Tickell) 3:46
6. Toonari (Composed By – Michel Benita) 5:58
7. Hacihi Gatsu (Composed By – Mieko Miyazaki) 4:43
8. Lykken (Composed By – Eyvind Alnæs) 6:02
9. Snowed In (Composed By – Michel Benita) 6:21

Design – Sascha Kleis
Double Bass – Michel Benita
Drums – Philippe Garcia
Engineer – Stefano Amerio
Flugelhorn – Matthieu Michel
Guitar, Electronics – Eivind Aarset
Koto – Mieko Miyazaki
Photography By [Cover Photo] – Woong Chul An
Photography By [Liner Photo (7)] – Charles Moraz
Photography By [Liner Photos] – Dániel Vass
Producer [Produced By] – Manfred Eicher

Recorded April 2015
Auditorio Stelio Molo RSI, Lugano

An ECM Production

In collaboration with RSI Rete Due, Lugano
Thanks to Paolo Keller

℗ © 2016 ECM Records GmbH, München


JAVI

Nils Landgren with Janis Siegel - Some Other Time (A Tribute to Leonard Bernstein) 2016


The great Leonard Bernstein would recognise a kindred spirit in Nils Landgren, the Swedish trombonist, singer and all-round musical prodigy who conceived this expansive tribute to him. Combining his own jazz quartet, the voice of Janis Siegel (Manhattan Transfer), the Bochum Symphony Orchestra and star arranger Vince Mendoza, Landgren achieves exactly the right blend of classical and popular modes. The 12 pieces include tunes from West Side Story – among them a version of America for multitracked trombones – with a gorgeous version of Lonely Town from Siegel and, to close, Landgren’s own warm, elegant improvisation on a melody from Bernstein’s 1971 Mass.






01. Overture: America
02. Some Other Time
03. Cool
04. Maria
05. Somewhere
06. The Story Of My Life
07. One Hand, One Heart
08. Something's Coming
09. Lonely Town
10. A Quiet Girl
11. Lucky To Be Me
12. A Simple Song

Nils Landgren / trombone & vocals
Janis Siegel / vocals
Jan Lundgren / piano
Dieter Ilg / bass
Wolfgang Haffner / drums

Members of the Bochumer Symphoniker
arranged & conducted by Vince Mendoza 

Recording Information
Produced by Nils landgren
Curator, Design & Executive Producer: Siggi Loch

Recorded by Adrian von Ripka & Nico Schütte at Sound Studio N, Cologne, November 1 - 4, 2015.
Recording assistance: Georgi Topalov, Hans-Günther Kasper & Uli Zimmermann.
Mixed and mastered by Adrian von Ripka at Bauer Studios, Ludwigsburg,
November 2015, assisted by Hannes Fritz
Additional vocals and trombone recorded by Lars Nilsson at Nilento Studio 

Photo (Nils Landgren with Janis Siegel) by Lutz Voigtländer


JAVI

Luca Nostro Quintet - Are You OK? (2015)



Luca Nostro | guitar, compositions and arrangements
Donny McCaslin | tenor sax
John Escreet | fender rhodes
Joe Sanders | bass
Tyshawn Sorey | drums

Esce nell’autunno 2015 Are You OK? il nuovo cd di Luca Nostro per Jando Music (in
associazione con Via Veneto Jazz).

Are you OK? è un disco di jazz contemporaneo registrato a New York da Luca Nostro con alcuni tra i più noti musicisti americani, molto attivi, sia
come leader che come sidemen, in formazioni considerate dal pubblico e dalla critica tra le più innovative nel panorama jazzistico statunitense e
mondiale: Donny McCaslin, John Escreet, Joe Sanders, Tyshawn Sorey.

La scena musicale newyorchese è continua fonte di ispirazione per Luca, la cui idea compositiva è quella di costruire strutture musicali movimentate e modulari in cui innestare temi brevi e incisivi, quasi pop. L’improvvisazione si sviluppa così su idee melodiche semplici e riff ritmici ripetuti concatenati in modo complesso attraverso l’interplay tra i musicisti.

La musica di Are you OK? è ispirata anche da alcune opere di Steve Reich, Frank Zappa, John Adams, Michele Tadini e Jacob TV che Luca ha suonato insieme al Parco della Musica Contemporanea Ensemble (PMCE) di cui fa parte da tre anni. Luca ha anche collaborato e registrato con Scott Coley, Antonio Sanchez e Mark Turner, per citarne alcuni.

La registrazione, il missaggio e il mastering sono stati fatti da Mike Marciano e Max Ross nello studio Systems Two di Brooklyn, uno degli studi più importanti per il jazz, dove hanno registrato, tra gli altri, Chick Corea, Clark Terry, Brandford Marsalis, Ravi Coltrane e molti altri.


1. Are You Ok? … 6:29
2. … No 3:18
3. Trematoda 10:28
4. My Dear Fears Intro 0:57
5. My Dear Fears 7:01
6. Wane Lèn Ma Yone Bi 5:34
7. Reverse Cone in Spite of a Square Woman 5:51
8. I Had to Hurt You for No Reason 7:45
9. I Hate 10:14


Domi

Rosario Bonaccorso - Viaggiando (2015)


Quando si intraprende un viaggio,
credo che più della meta sia
importante scegliere con chi viaggerai.

Voglio ringraziare Roberto, Fabrizio
e Javier, per aver intuito la mia meta
musicale, condividendone il percorso
interiore... Grazie alla loro poesia
interpretativa si è ancor più arricchito
questo mio viaggio d’oltremare tra
Mediterraneo, l’America del Jazz, il
Brasile e l’Argentina, luoghi del Mondo e
luoghi dell’Anima.

Questa è stata la parte più bella del
viaggio.

Grazie a Giandomenico per il grande
supporto, i consigli e la fiducia, a
Stefonico, per le riprese del suono di ogni
nota e respiro, a Eduardo, per il magico
equilibrio dei nostri suoni sul disco.
E infine Grazie alla mia “Musa” Renate.
Questo disco è dedicato a mio Padre,
che centinaia di volte ha attraversato gli
Oceani. Grazie a lui non ho mai avuto
paura di viaggiare.

Viaggiando cominciamo a trovare quel che
cerchiamo, noi stessi…

Rosario Bonaccorso


When on a journey, I believe that
the choice of whom you travel
with is more important than that of the
destination.

I wish to thank Roberto, Fabrizio and
Javier, for having sensed my musical
objective, sharing in its inner unfolding...
Thanks to their poetic interpretation, my
overseas trips around the Mediterranean,

America’s jazz scene, Brazil and Argentina
- places belonging to the World and to the
Soul - have been further enriched.

This has been the best part of the trip.
I’d like to thank Giandomenico for
his precious support, advice, and trust,
Stefonico for recording the sound of
every note and breath, Eduardo for the
magical balance of our album’s sound.
And finally, special thanks to my muse,
Renate.

This album is dedicated to my father,
who crossed the oceans hundreds of
times. Thanks to him I’ve never been
afraid of travelling.

By travelling we start to find that which we are
seeking for: ourselves

Rosario Bonaccorso

Music and lyrics by Rosario Bonaccorso

Rosario Bonaccorso doublebass and vocals
Roberto Taufic guitar and backing vocals
Fabrizio Bosso trumpet and flugelhorn
Javier Girotto soprano sax, quena and moxeño
Recorded in Rome at Toto Sound Studio by Stefano Del Vecchio
Mixed and Mastered in Natal (Brasil) at Studio Promidia by Eduardo Taufic
Roberto Taufic plays a Rodolfo Cucculelli guitar
Cover: Giando‘ Blu - 1997 Oil on Canvas by Luigi Boille
Photos: Paolo Soriani
Artwork: Enzo Criscione





01. Viaggiando
02. Matto
03. My Faith
04. Storto
05. A.C.J.
06. Domin
07. Come la neve
08. Give Me Your Hand and Sing
09. Song for My Father
10. Buon volo
11. Agosto
12. Indian Summer
13. Mister Kneipp
14. Mon frere 


Domi

Michael Rosen - Sweet 17 (2015)


Michael Rosen, tenor sax
Lage Lund, guitar
Ralph Alessi, trumpet
Domenico Sanna, piano
Matt Penman, double bass
Bill Stewart, drums

At 17, one’s dreams are alive and vivid and there’s always hope that one day these may come true, as they did for American saxophonist Michael Rosen. Rosen began studying the cello at the age of seven for two years before moving to the piano, and later at eleven he moved to the saxophone.

In the following years, he was first alto saxophone with the Middle School and High School Big Bands and received numerous state and local "best Soloist" awards. Initially, his interests lay more towards “progressive” groups such as Yes, Led Zeppelin, and Talking Heads, but when in 1985 Michael Rosen moved to Boston to study at the Berklee College of Music with renowned teachers such as Gary Burton and George Garzone, where he started to cultivate his soaring passion for the music of Charlie Parker, Joe Henderson, Miles Davis, Stan Getz and John Coltrane, and many other jazz artists who since then have been the main source of his inspiration.

Rosen has been living in Italy for almost 30 years and spends most of his time between Rome and London, highly active in the musical circles of both capital cities. Today, after 35 years of international success with 9 CDs as a leader, over 200 as a sideman, and having collaborated with leading artists of the day such as Bobby McFerrin, Sarah Jane Morris, Mike Stern, the Orchestra della Scala, and countless other American and European musicians, the seventeen-year-old boy with long and disheveled hair, now at the height of his artistic career, returns to New York, his hometown, to record his new music together with a stellar cast of jazz musicians. Sweet 17, as with all albums of the saxophonist / composer, leaves ample room for melodic beauty, fluidity and expressiveness, and introduces the more dynamic, modern and evolved compositions that Rosen has written so far, reflecting all the experience gained from the late 80s to date.

Accompanying him on this musical experience are highly-acclaimed musicians such as: Lage Lund (guitar), Ralph Alessi (trumpet), Domenico Sanna (piano), Matt Penman (double bass) and Bill Stewart (drums). It can be truly said that Michael Rosen’s dream, his "Sweet 17", came true and this album is the evidence.


01 Architextures (Michael Rosen)
02 Ebb Tide (Michael Rosen)
03 Sweet 17 (Michael Rosen)
04 Fair Weather Ahead (Michael Rosen)
05 Hopefully (Michael Rosen)
06 Safe As Houses (Michael Rosen)
07 39 Belgrave Square  (Michael Rosen)
08 Yellow Barn Road (Michael Rosen)
09 Jacoby’s Ladder (Michael Rosen)
10 The Way We Were (A. Bergman, M. Bergman, M. Hamlisch)


Domi


Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Ameen Saleem - The Grove Lab (2015)




Saleem (Roy Hargrove Quintet and the Roy Hargrove Big Band — Hargrove plays trumpet and flugelhorn on The Groove Lab) says only plays jazz, but also funk. Really, if a bass is available, he’ll play it.

However, the sound of the album, and the thought process behind it, is best expressed by Saleem and the other musicians who appear on the album, including Cyrus Chestnut on piano, Rhodes, Wurlitzer, and organ; Jeremy Clemons handling drums and percussion; Stacy Dillard on tenor and soprano sax; Gregory Hutchinson, also on drums; Craig Magnano on guitar, and Mavis Swan Poole and Ramona Dunlop on vocals. “Some music is timeless,” Saleem says. “And hopefully this is, also.”


Ameen Saleem, bass
Roy Hargrove, trumpet and flugelhorn
Cyrus Chestnut on piano, Rhodes, Wurlitzer, and organ
Stacy Dillard, tenor and soprano sax
Craig Magnano, guitar
Jeremy "Bean" Clemons, drums and percussion
Gregory Hutchinson, drums
Mavis "Swan" Poole and Ramona Dunlop, vocals

Korinthis
Epiphany
Don’t Walk Away
I.L.Y.T.
Love Don’t
Neo
For My Baby
“A” Theme
Best Kept Secret
Baby It’ll Be Alright
So Glad
Possibilities
For Tamisha


VÍCTOR
(son of Domi)

Enrico Pieranunzi with Simona Severini - My Songbook (2016)


Uscira' a gennaio 2016 per Jando Music|Via Veneto Jazz, My songbook, nuovo cd di
Enrico Pieranunzi che non manchera' di sorprendere anche i piu' affezionati fans del noto
pianista. Pieranunzi si presenta infatti qui nella inusuale veste di songwriter
rivelando un’ulteriore, emozionante sfaccettatura del suo variegato universo musicale.
Undici i suoi brani inclusi nel cd, tutti rigorosamente con parole che, in alcuni casi, ha
scritto lui stesso. A dare unità e continuità alle canzoni (o se si preferisce, “storie in
musica”) è la voce fascinosa di Simona Severini, che si rivela il veicolo
comunicativo ideale per i brani del cd. Una collaborazione, quella PieranunziSeverini,
iniziata nel 2012 in occasione del tributo discografico a Lucio Dalla, e giunta,
proprio con My songbook ad uno splendido coronamento.

Gli arrangiamenti, curati dallo stesso Pieranunzi, prevedono formazioni diverse, dal duo
al sestetto, e vengono eseguiti da alcuni tra i migliori musicisti mai espressi dal jazz
italiano (Luca Bulgarelli, Nicola Angelucci e i due guests, Rosario Giuliani e Francesco
Lento).



Un cd tutto da ascoltare e da scoprire, ad alto potenziale narrativo

Simona Severini, vocals
Enrico Pieranunzi, piano, electric piano, arrangements, vocals (track 11)
Luca Burgarelli, bass
Nicola Angelucci, drums
Rosario Giuliani, alto and soprano saxes (tracks 2, 8, 10)
Francesco Lento, trumpet (tracks 2, 5)

01. My Heart in a Song
02. Night Bird
03. Fairy Flowers
04. Coralie
05. Soft Journey
06. Premier Moment
07. Where I Never Was
08. Reasons Why
09. Just a Song
10. Io non saprò mai perché
11.Non posso sognarti come sei


Domi

Enrico Pieranunzi - Tales from the Unexpected (Live at Theater Gütersloh) 2015



“Presence is very important to me,” Enrico Pieranunzi said in an interview for Jazz thing magazine’s series “European Jazz Legends”. “The theater director Peter Brook speaks of ‘emptying yourself’ in order to perform. You should be empty in order to listen to yourself and to others – and to be in the moment. That to me is the essence of jazz.” Born in the Italian capital of Rome on December 5, 1949, young Enrico developed his love of jazz from his father and by imitating what he heard on 78s by the likes of Charlie Parker, Lee Konitz, Lennie Tristano and Chet Baker. The latter, with whom Pieranunzi eventually got to play and record in Italy in the early 80s, steered his piano influences away from McCoy Tyner and Chick Corea toward Bill Evans. Combining this with a sense of swing and serious lyricism, Enrico Pieranunzi is internationally known by now as a unique and decidedly European voice on his instrument, having won accolades and awards for his more than seventy recordings.

On August 29, 2015, Enrico Pieranunzi added a new chapter to this extensive discography with this live recording from Theater Gütersloh featuring his trio with the Dutch double bass player Jasper Somsen and French drummer André Ceccarelli. Playing intricately woven compositions by the leader and telling a few spontaneous “Impro Tales,” they aptly illustrate Pieranunzi’s initial statement – and make these “Tales from the Unexpected” a profound joy to listen to, forever in the moment.


Bass – Jasper Somsen (tracks: 1-10)
Drums – André Ceccarelli (tracks: 1-10)
Piano, Composed By – Enrico Pieranunzi (tracks: 1-10)

01. Improtale 1 04:46
02. The Waver 08:03
03. Anne Blomster Sang 06:59
04. Improtale 2 06:13
05. B.Y.O.H. 06:41
06. Tales From The Unexpected 08:41
07. Improtale 3 07:41
08. Fellini´s Waltz 06:41
09. Improtale 4 02:24
10. The Surprise Answer 06:22
11. Interview with Enrico Pieranunzi 11:50


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Enrico Pieranunzi, Federico Casagrande - Double Circle (2015)


A piano and an acoustic guitar. A sweet melody, “Anne Blomster Sang”, which can positively affect your daily mood, if listened to when you wake up. This brightly beautiful gem is the opening track of “Double Circle”, a CD that brought Enrico Pieranunzi and Federico Casagrande together in a recording studio for the first time: two musicians from different generations and with different backgrounds, but united by their love for jazz. This love has led Pieranunzi to become a reputable piano master over time and Casagrande to live far from home, since he left the province of Treviso (Italy) and moved all the way to Paris to learn the ropes in the jazz clubs of the French capital and returned more mature and ready to tell his musical tale. Two different paths crossed in a recording studio in Udine and gave rise to a charming record including airy, quiet tunes that alternate with small, more quick-paced movements, like the two brief improvisations, “Sector 1” and “Sector 2”. Speaking of paths, “Dangerous Paths” is one in which Pieranunzi’s and Casagrande’s instruments become vehemently entwined, suggesting their being chased on a bumpy road. But it doesn’t take much to restore the calm: “Within The House of Night” is a gentle oasis of uncommon refinement. The very moving “Charlie Haden” is Pieranunzi’s tribute to a musician with whom he has shared so much for so long, in the ‘80s together with Chet Baker and in the last decade with two projects, “Special Encounter” and “FelliniJazz”, recently re-released in double LP format on CAM JAZZ for the tenth anniversary of their initial release.  Pieranunzi and Casagrande wrote all of the tracks here, except for “Beija Flor” by Noel Silva, Augusto Tomás Jr and Nelson Cavaquinho.

Recorded and mixed in Cavalicco on 12, 13, 14 November 2014 at Artesuono Recording Studio.

Enrico Pieranunzi (Piano)
Federico Casagrande (Acoustic Guitar)

01. Anne Blomster Sang
02. Periph
03. Sector 1
04. Clear
05. Dangerous Paths
06. Within the House of Night
07. No Nonsense
08. Beija Flor
09. Disclosure
10. Sector 2
11. Charlie Haden



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