The Official Organissimo Italian Jazz Thread

[king ubu]

Just thought I'd finally watch the Salzau 2004 DVD by the Rava Quintet - great so far!

By that time, Andrea Pozza* had replaced Bollani in the quintet - another fine young musician! I forgot that Bonaccorso was the bassist here, too - I love his big woody sound!

---

*) doesn't that name mean "the one who smells badly"?

No, "Pozza" means piscine, pool of water; "Puzza" means stink, smell.

ooops...

That's the only mistake I found in your comprehensive essays about italian jazz. (I am a little ashamed)

well, I'm flattered! But then I assume you noticed I love lots of Italian jazz!

About Pieranunzi I was talking about the latest show I attented a couple of years ago: a trio with him, Joey Baron and Marc Johnson. I don't know the records you named, but his Morricone's and Fellini's I have are good, not great and after a few listening...boring.

I have heard the first (I think) of the Morricone discs from a library (and also taped a concert off radio) and thought it was actually quite good, but I can definitely see why some would think of Pieranunzi as boring. His trio with Hein van de Geyn is fine, too, by the way (the latest incarnation had André Ceccarelli on drums).

And Aldo Romano (who also played with Pieranunzi) is of course the first-mentioned of the French trio Romano-Sclavis-Texier, which is a mighty fine band and has been going strong for several years by now (in some cases Michel Portal was added and then sometimes Daniel Humair was on drums - this is definitely a French group, but it still deserves mention as it's outstanding!)

For some wrong reason I tend to go at concerts of italian musicians rather then to buy their records, so my POV could by misleaded by a bad performance...or maybe I wasn't in the groove that evening.

BTW I found boring even the latest Abdullah Ibrahim's concert I saw, and I love the man and for sure his early works. Same with latest Ornette Coleman.

Maybe "boring" is not the word, in some case I wasn't enthusiastic.

I mean that there are concerts I can still remember, like Sun Ra and Sonny Rollins and John Zorn, even the latest Art Ensemble of Chicago, so my judgement can be very subjective.

very much the same with me and Swiss bands... I just today bought the first disc of Malcolm Braff's (the 2000 recording with Alex Blake and Yaya Ouattara, "Yele", recorded live in 2000, released on Unit Records), but I've been a big fan of his for years now, have heard him live, taped shows from radio etc

[porcy62]

Just thought I'd finally watch the Salzau 2004 DVD by the Rava Quintet - great so far!

By that time, Andrea Pozza* had replaced Bollani in the quintet - another fine young musician! I forgot that Bonaccorso was the bassist here, too - I love his big woody sound!

---

*) doesn't that name mean "the one who smells badly"?

No, "Pozza" means piscine, pool of water; "Puzza" means stink, smell.

ooops...

That's the only mistake I found in your comprehensive essays about italian jazz. (I am a little ashamed)

well, I'm flattered! But then I assume you noticed I love lots of Italian jazz!

About Pieranunzi I was talking about the latest show I attented a couple of years ago: a trio with him, Joey Baron and Marc Johnson. I don't know the records you named, but his Morricone's and Fellini's I have are good, not great and after a few listening...boring.

I have heard the first (I think) of the Morricone discs from a library (and also taped a concert off radio) and thought it was actually quite good, but I can definitely see why some would think of Pieranunzi as boring. His trio with Hein van de Geyn is fine, too, by the way (the latest incarnation had André Ceccarelli on drums).

And Aldo Romano (who also played with Pieranunzi) is of course the first-mentioned of the French trio Romano-Sclavis-Texier, which is a mighty fine band and has been going strong for several years by now (in some cases Michel Portal was added and then sometimes Daniel Humair was on drums - this is definitely a French group, but it still deserves mention as it's outstanding!)

For some wrong reason I tend to go at concerts of italian musicians rather then to buy their records, so my POV could by misleaded by a bad performance...or maybe I wasn't in the groove that evening.

BTW I found boring even the latest Abdullah Ibrahim's concert I saw, and I love the man and for sure his early works. Same with latest Ornette Coleman.

Maybe "boring" is not the word, in some case I wasn't enthusiastic.

I mean that there are concerts I can still remember, like Sun Ra and Sonny Rollins and John Zorn, even the latest Art Ensemble of Chicago, so my judgement can be very subjective.

very much the same with me and Swiss bands... I just today bought the first disc of Malcolm Braff's (the 2000 recording with Alex Blake and Yaya Ouattara, "Yele", recorded live in 2000, released on Unit Records), but I've been a big fan of his for years now, have heard him live, taped shows from radio etc

Pieranunzi with Baron and Johnson's concert wasn't such bad, but I lacked some groove and energy from the piano compared to Baron and Johnson playing. It's true that Pieranunzi isn't as extrovert as Bollani nor he has the funk of an hard bop guy, but...overall too much sweet for my taste. Maybe in a biggest ensemble, a quintet or more, he can do a good job, but in trio...he's boring. IMHO.

[Peter Friedman]

I find that with Enrico Pieranunzi especially, his recordings can vary a great deal between wonderful and boring. Quite a few CDs I have by him are, in my view, outstanding. There are others I found dull and disposed of them.

While pianist Dado Moroni was mentioned, I think he needs to be discussed further. His two solo piano CDs on the (hard to locate) Jazz Connaisseur label - WITH DUKE IN MIND and THE WAY I AM - are fabulous.

I also like very much his two CDs on the Jazz Focus label - INSIGHTS (trio) and OUT OF THE NIGHT(quartet).

My interest in Moroni was sparked when a friend turned me on to his trio CD - WHAT'S NEW - on Splasc(h).

[Van Basten II]

Quite proud of this thread that i started and of course the quality participation from the members.

Pretty suprised that nobody has mentionned the Egea label which has produced some great music. Especially for those who are fans of Pieranunzi, i strongly recommend Perugia suite.

As i mentionned in another thread i'll echo the sentiments of an earlier poster about the beautiful sounds produced by the very fine clarinettist Mirabassi, you can also find recordings of him on the label Egea.

[porcy62]

Another jazz-prog rock band I found pretty good at times was Perigeo, but it passed a long time since I listen to them, it might be worth a fresh new listening. Some of its former members are now renowed jazz musicians:

* Franco D'Andrea

* Claudio Fasoli

* Giovanni Tommaso

* Danilo Rea

* Maurizio Giammarco

Edited February 1, 2008 by porcy62

[king ubu]

...

While pianist Dado Moroni was mentioned, I think he needs to be discussed further. His two solo piano CDs on the (hard to locate) Jazz Connaisseur label - WITH DUKE IN MIND and THE WAY I AM - are fabulous.

I also like very much his two CDs on the Jazz Focus label - INSIGHTS (trio) and OUT OF THE NIGHT(quartet).

My interest in Moroni was sparked when a friend turned me on to his trio CD - WHAT'S NEW - on Splasc(h).

Moroni... I think first I heard him on the "Ray Brown & ... pianists" CD. Then six or seven years ago I was invited some some private party where he was playing with a fine local guitar player... quite a maniac, Moroni, no? Anyway, certainly a virtuoso pianist, but somehow I never felt like following up on his work.

Quite proud of this thread that i started and of course the quality participation from the members.

Pretty suprised that nobody has mentionned the Egea label which has produced some great music. Especially for those who are fans of Pieranunzi, i strongly recommend Perugia suite.

As i mentionned in another thread i'll echo the sentiments of an earlier poster about the beautiful sounds produced by the very fine clarinettist Mirabassi, you can also find recordings of him on the label Egea.

I've mentioned several Egea albums... I have about six or seven and all are good, some better than that (notably the Mirabassi one!)

[king ubu]

Pieranunzi with Baron and Johnson's concert wasn't such bad, but I lacked some groove and energy from the piano compared to Baron and Johnson playing. It's true that Pieranunzi isn't as extrovert as Bollani nor he has the funk of an hard bop guy, but...overall too much sweet for my taste. Maybe in a biggest ensemble, a quintet or more, he can do a good job, but in trio...he's boring. IMHO.

That sounds like a rather fair assessment... as for Bollani, he can indeed do it all, it seems, but... have you heard Eric Legnini? In the funky department, he's most likely my favourite European pianist, these days!

And who was that, I heard it on the radio, a programme called "Il cosmonauto russo", I think there's a CD version on Label Bleu, but I can't recall the guy's name, possibly he's a guitar player... Mirabassi was also guesting there as one of the soloists, wiht a huge band and some actors and stuff, sounded really good to my ears, all together!

[A Lark Ascending]

About Pieranunzi I was talking about the latest show I attented a couple of years ago: a trio with him, Joey Baron and Marc Johnson. I don't know the records you named, but his Morricone's and Fellini's I have are good, not great and after a few listening...boring.

For some wrong reason I tend to go at concerts of italian musicians rather then to buy their records, so my POV could by misleaded by a bad performance...or maybe I wasn't in the groove that evening.

BTW I found boring even the latest Abdullah Ibrahim's concert I saw, and I love the man and for sure his early works. Same with latest Ornette Coleman.

Maybe "boring" is not the word, in some case I wasn't enthusiastic or I was dissapointed

I mean that there are concerts I can still remember as great performances, like Sun Ra and Sonny Rollins and John Zorn, even the latest Art Ensemble of Chicago, and others that I found dissapointing, so my judgements can be very subjective.

I know what you're saying, porcy62. We all hear with different ears - what some hear as sweet and unexciting I tend to hear as lyrical. Suits my temperament - I tend to lose interest with 'funky', by contrast.

And the influence of a weaker performance or even one where you are not really paying attention can be strong on overall perception. I've had exactly the same reaction which you did with Abdullah Ibrahim a few years back. My mind wandered, even though I've loved his records and had previously seen him in a magical big band performance. I think what happened with the second concert was that it was at the end of a long weekend of music in a hall where chairs had been packed in to squeeze in a maximum capacity audience. The atmosphere was claustrophobic and that affected my reaction to the music.

Pretty suprised that nobody has mentionned the Egea label which has produced some great music. Especially for those who are fans of Pieranunzi, i strongly recommend Perugia suite.

I really like the Egea label - but it seems to lean towards the folkier/semi-classical side of Italian jazz. I can see that not appealing to listeners who want something more earthy or abrasive.

[porcy62]

Pieranunzi with Baron and Johnson's concert wasn't such bad, but I lacked some groove and energy from the piano compared to Baron and Johnson playing. It's true that Pieranunzi isn't as extrovert as Bollani nor he has the funk of an hard bop guy, but...overall too much sweet for my taste. Maybe in a biggest ensemble, a quintet or more, he can do a good job, but in trio...he's boring. IMHO.

That sounds like a rather fair assessment... as for Bollani, he can indeed do it all, it seems, but... have you heard Eric Legnini? In the funky department, he's most likely my favourite European pianist, these days!

And who was that, I heard it on the radio, a programme called "Il cosmonauto russo", I think there's a CD version on Label Bleu, but I can't recall the guy's name, possibly he's a guitar player... Mirabassi was also guesting there as one of the soloists, wiht a huge band and some actors and stuff, sounded really good to my ears, all together!

I should have that label Blue cd, now if I could only remember under wich artist I filed it...

[king ubu]

Pieranunzi with Baron and Johnson's concert wasn't such bad, but I lacked some groove and energy from the piano compared to Baron and Johnson playing. It's true that Pieranunzi isn't as extrovert as Bollani nor he has the funk of an hard bop guy, but...overall too much sweet for my taste. Maybe in a biggest ensemble, a quintet or more, he can do a good job, but in trio...he's boring. IMHO.

That sounds like a rather fair assessment... as for Bollani, he can indeed do it all, it seems, but... have you heard Eric Legnini? In the funky department, he's most likely my favourite European pianist, these days!

And who was that, I heard it on the radio, a programme called "Il cosmonauto russo", I think there's a CD version on Label Bleu, but I can't recall the guy's name, possibly he's a guitar player... Mirabassi was also guesting there as one of the soloists, wiht a huge band and some actors and stuff, sounded really good to my ears, all together!

I should have that label Blue cd, now if I could only remember under wich artist I filed it...

I have a partial live recording, but I haven't edited it and hence not logged it and have no idea where it's lying around, so... let's google, here 'tis, Battista Lena, "I cosmonauti russi":

[porcy62]

Pieranunzi with Baron and Johnson's concert wasn't such bad, but I lacked some groove and energy from the piano compared to Baron and Johnson playing. It's true that Pieranunzi isn't as extrovert as Bollani nor he has the funk of an hard bop guy, but...overall too much sweet for my taste. Maybe in a biggest ensemble, a quintet or more, he can do a good job, but in trio...he's boring. IMHO.

That sounds like a rather fair assessment... as for Bollani, he can indeed do it all, it seems, but... have you heard Eric Legnini? In the funky department, he's most likely my favourite European pianist, these days!

And who was that, I heard it on the radio, a programme called "Il cosmonauto russo", I think there's a CD version on Label Bleu, but I can't recall the guy's name, possibly he's a guitar player... Mirabassi was also guesting there as one of the soloists, wiht a huge band and some actors and stuff, sounded really good to my ears, all together!

I should have that label Blue cd, now if I could only remember under wich artist I filed it...

I have a partial live recording, but I haven't edited it and hence not logged it and have no idea where it's lying around, so... let's google, here 'tis, Battista Lena, "I cosmonauti russi":

Got it! Thanks Ubu.

I'll give it a spin one of these days, my wife got a bad flu with headache, so music is forbidden at the moment.

Edited February 2, 2008 by porcy62

[Van Basten II]

About Legnini own this fine record

Too bad, his stuff is only available in importation.

[Christiern]

Hope this is not disruptive, nut here are some photos I took in Perugia 24 years ago:

notice the censor's little black patch!

Park your Heineken before entering.

Back to the music....

[porcy62]

Chris,

I was there too in 1984, look for me in your reportage.

I am the more handsome, you can't go wrong.

[Christiern]

That's not you beating the Ambrosia drum?

[porcy62]

That's not you beating the Ambrosia drum?

I was younger...but older then the kid in the photo

Edited February 3, 2008 by porcy62

[JSngry]

Just heard three outstanding live recordings in the Jazz Italiano 2006 series that I would/could/can/will recommend quite highly:

1 - Drummer Roberto Gatto leasds a 5tet in an apparent tribute to the Miles Four & More band/mini-era, a concept which has nothing but Who Gives A Shit written all over it to me, but in actuality, the music is played with a spirited fire lacking in the sense of forgone conclusion-ess that usually permeate these type things. Tenorist Daniele Scannapieco is a real treat, referencing Trane more than either Coleman or Shorter in terms of tone and vocabulary, but phrasing in with an almost be-boppish sense of bob & weave. All told, retro the way I like it (if it has to be done at all), with love instead of idolatry.

2 - Paolo Fresu leads a quartet that is considerably spikier & frisker than what I've heard of him before. Electronics and guitar are involved (OH THE HORROR!!!) and the whole thing sounds like ECM Unleashed or something. The music is always in your face, and even if it does tend to have a smiley face, it never lets you lose sight of the fact that bared teeth are a part of that smile. This one both surprised & impressed me.

3 - Enrico Rava leads a 5tet in a program of his absolutely gorgeous originals and a ballad reading of "More" that is also absolutely gorgeous. I don't know how old Rava is by now, but judging by the cover photo, he's at least 150, which would explain the commanding authority and sense of place that his material shows & the execution thereof. I can't recall the last time I've heard a program of all original material where the material itself was this compelling on its own. The "star" of the batch AFAIC, and clarinetist/tenorist Mauro Negri is a perfect foil for Rava in both solo & ensemble.

http://www.jazzos.com/products0.php?module...mp;brand=506329

Edited February 3, 2008 by JSngry

[king ubu]

Jim, I think Fresu and Rava both did electric Miles influenced things!

On the other hand, Fresu also did an album called "Kind of Porgy and Bess" (I only heard a partial live concert of that project on the radio, though), with Nguyên Lê, Antonello Salis (on rhodes, keys and accordion), Furio di Castri, Roberto Gatto and Dhafer Youssef - not the usual approach at this kind of retro/revival project. It's more just Fresu's own take on Porgy & Bess, I assume.

Fresu also has his regular quintet with Tino Tracanna (ts,ss), Roberto Cipelli (p), Attilio Zanchi (b) and Ettore Fioravanti (d). They did release (or still are releasing) a series of albums, each dedicated to the compositions of one of the five members. I haven't bought any of those but heard some live recordings, and this is a fine band, with strong musical connections (they've been playing together for years).

He did a similar thing with Jan Lundgren (piano) and the great Richard Galliano (accordion) recently, "Mare Nostrum".

And of course he's also on the latest Carla Bley & The Lost Chords (Swallow, Sheppard, Drummond) project, and also did a tour with them in the fall.

His discography is huge, check it out on his site!

Here's his website: http://www.paolofresu.it/ (pretty funny one!)

Oh, and one more rather interesting thing he did was playing in La Treya Quartet, a group largely/originally dedicated to the music of Fauré. They did at least one album, which I like quite some, even the pianist (Peter Waters, the only classical musicians, the others being bassist Tony Overwater and drummer Gilbert Paeffgen) is doing fine. In live shows they also played other stuff, like Zawinul/Miles things etc.

And the most recent I've heard of Fresu, I actually just played yesterday: a recording by the trio of Paulo Russo (accordion), Fresu and Stefano Bollani (piano). Of course this is again more in a chamber/european direction, but as you all know, Bolland and Fresu both can get pretty funky, in the best sense of the word.

[A Lark Ascending]

That Fresu 'Kind of Porgy and Bess' is lovely. Though my favourite Fresu record is the one he did with Rava, Gatto, Bollani and Enzo Pietropaoli at the Montreal Festival - 'Play Miles Davis'. A record that has the free-flowing feel of the mid-60s Miles band, even though the tunes chosen are mainly associated with Miles in the 50s.

Enrico Rava played a thrilling concert at Cheltenham a few years back (on crutches!) - ended with a long, delicious version of 'Poinciana' that I never wanted to end - he even had us singing the theme! Strangely, he hasn't recorded this on CD - I had to buy a DVD to get a version, something I rarely buy.

Looking forward to seeing Rava/Bollani when they play locally in April.

If you get the chance to see Bollani, take it. Apart from the great music he's a great clown. He ends with a wonderful circus act where he gets the audience to shout out ten random tunes which he then weaves into a 5 minute improvisation. Vaudeville? Perhaps! But I love that refusal to be overserious.

Edited February 4, 2008 by Bev Stapleton

[Clunky]

Thanks for starting this thread. Long ago there was great thread on Italian jazz (at AAJ I think, or was it the BNBB?) which along with Kenny Weir's Australian jazz thread became the only reason I visited AAJ. So Kenny get to it. Mean while I can see this thread costing me whole load of cash

Oh well....any recent recommendations from the Auand label, had some very nice stuff from them in the past.....

[A Lark Ascending]

Clunky,

I've pulled a very old Australian jazz thread to the top as a starting point.

[Guest Bill Barton]

...any recent recommendations from the Auand label, had some very nice stuff from them in the past.....

I don't know whether this one is recent enough to have escaped your notice, but I like the Domino Quartet's Radio 3 Sessions a great deal. This is the group with trombonist Gianluca Petrella, bassist Antonio Borghini, drummer Hamid Drake and saxophonist/flutist Sean Bergin.

[king ubu]

...any recent recommendations from the Auand label, had some very nice stuff from them in the past.....

I don't know whether this one is recent enough to have escaped your notice, but I like the Domino Quartet's Radio 3 Sessions a great deal. This is the group with trombonist Gianluca Petrella, bassist Antonio Borghini, drummer Hamid Drake and saxophonist/flutist Sean Bergin.

That sounds interesting! There seem to be some relations between Italian and South African jazz musicians, too... Moholo I think recently did concerts with Italians in his band...

[Guest Bill Barton]

...any recent recommendations from the Auand label, had some very nice stuff from them in the past.....

I don't know whether this one is recent enough to have escaped your notice, but I like the Domino Quartet's Radio 3 Sessions a great deal. This is the group with trombonist Gianluca Petrella, bassist Antonio Borghini, drummer Hamid Drake and saxophonist/flutist Sean Bergin.

That sounds interesting! There seem to be some relations between Italian and South African jazz musicians, too... Moholo I think recently did concerts with Italians in his band...

It's a superb disc! There's a definite Blue Notes, HiLife influence/feeling on occasion here, particularly on Bergin's tune "Stole Away." His "Zulu Wedding" has what sounds like pennywhistles, including a portion where it also sounds like he's playing two pennywhistles simultaneously, although he is credited on "flutes" in the annotation. Perhaps they're wooden flutes and not pennywhistles, but the resulting texture reminds me of Tony Scott's In Afrika album where he plays with the pennywhistle ensemble, although things get a little more "out" than that session. There's also a killer version of "Peggy's Blue Skylight," one of my personal favorite Mingus pieces.

[king ubu]

Found this one on sale two weeks ago and finally had time to give it a freaking loud and joyful spin - great one!

Many of the usual suspects are on hand to turn in the "jazz" solos, the whole thing being another of those Banda affairs. Soloists include Enrico Rava, Gabriele Mirabassi, Battista Lena himself on guitar, Gianni Coscia on accordion. It's on Label Bleu, as is the previously mentioned Lena disc.