Record Reviews

SERGIO CASALE ~ SCIUSCIA LOSEN 192 (Barcode: 7090025831928) ~ ITALY ~ Soundtracks Recorded: 2013 Released: 2018 This is an album by veteran Italian flautist / saxophonist / composer Sergio CasaleFind albums by this artist dedicated to Italian cinematic music of the second half of the 20th Century. He is accompanied by clarinetist Antonio ArietanoFind albums by this artist and violist Sergio FanelliFind albums by this artist, and together they play eighteen compositions taken from soundtracks of cult Italian films by such illustrious directors like Pier Paolo PasoliniFind albums by this artist, Frederico FelliniFind albums by this artist, Michelangelo AntonioniFind albums by this artist, Vittorio De SicaFind albums by this artist and others. The music was composed by best Italian cinematic music creators, like Ennio MorriconeFind albums by this artist, Nino RotaFind albums by this artist, Alessandro CicogniniFind albums by this artist and others. The music is of course familiar to every Cultural human being on this planet, and as such it takes a lot of courage to tackle it in new way, as the attempt presented here. The trio led by Casale transforms the music into chamber, almost completely Classical music environment, very minimalistic and "clean", where absolutely every note counts and is clearly audible. At the first moment the music sounds a bit estranged, but very soon the listener is spellbound into this enchanted universe and completely enthralled by it. The familiar themes are transported into another dimension, which clearly points out how strong the original compositions are as far as harmonic structures and melodic perfection. This new chamber treatment, although pretty far removed from the original concept of the music, works beautifully on its own and is a delicious listening experience. Overall this is a bold and unexpected piece of music, which takes something many people are familiar with and transforms it into a new aesthetics, managing to preserve the beauty and the spirit of the original music. Listening to this music is a wonderful way to escape the frantic, chaotic everyday existence and absorb some pure unadulterated musical essence.

Updated: 06/04/2018Posted: 06/04/2018

CD 1 Mini-Sleeve Recommend To A Friend

RICHARD GALLIANO ~ NINO ROTA DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 028947646150 (Barcode: 028947646150) ~ FRANCE ~ Jazz Recorded: 2011 Released: 2011 This is an album by French accordionist / composer Richard GallianoFind albums by this artist, recorded in a quintet setting with British saxophonist John SurmanFind albums by this artist, American trumpeter Dave DouglasFind albums by this artist, Russian (resident in US) bassist Boris KozlovFind albums by this artist and American drummer Clarence PennFind albums by this artist. As the title suggests, the album is dedicated to the cinematic music by the great Italian composer Nino RotaFind albums by this artist. The album presents twenty tracks, all but one composed by Rota and one is an original composition by Galliano, dedicated to Rota. Rota’s music was one of the most distinctive soundtracks of the Italian / European and later on also Hollywood cinema. His cooperation with Italian directors like Frederico FelliniFind albums by this artist, Luchino ViscontiFind albums by this artist and Franco ZeffirelliFind albums by this artist and later Francis Ford CoppolaFind albums by this artist, made his brilliant film scores world famous and everlasting. Galliano and the quintet’s treatment of Rota’s music is wonderfully balanced between the original melody lines and their Jazz interpretations, full of superb musicianship and imagination. Sometimes hidden from the eye (ear), at other times easily recognizable, the epic melodies fly one after another like scenes from b/w movies, and those of us, who experienced these brilliant films at their first exposures, are swept on a carpet ride through a sentimental journey, full of memories and emotions. These were definitely better times… Overall, this is a sublime interpretation of the cinematic music by Nino Rota, played by great Jazz instrumentalist and arranged, adapted and orchestrated with great care and aesthetic respect by Galliano. This is a breath of fresh air in every respect, perhaps not a typical Jazz album, but certainly one that leaves the listener with a wide smile and a tear in the eye…

Updated: 30/10/2023Posted: 30/10/2023

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SILBERMAN NEW QUINTET ~ PIESN GESI KANADYJSKICH AUDIO CAVE 2017/006 (Barcode: 5905669566278) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2016 Released: 2017 This is the fourth album recorded under the "Silberman" moniker, following the third album recorded by a trio, which comprised of pianist Mateusz GawedaFind albums by this artist, bassist Jakub MielcarekFind albums by this artist and drummer Lukasz StworzewiczFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. SilbermanFind albums by this artist). On this album the lineup is expanded to a quintet with the addition of saxophonist Maciej ObaraFind albums by this artist and bass guitarist Artur KudlacikFind albums by this artist. Together they perform five original compositions, two by Gaweda, two by Stworzewicz and one co-credited to the quintet, and their interpretation of a Nino RotaFind albums by this artist piece. The music on this album is much more Jazz oriented, mostly pretty standard modern Jazz, with some Free Jazz elements and unusual rhythmic parts performed by the electric bass and the drums. It is less unique and surprising than the debut album, but probably more acceptable to the Jazz connoisseurs, who found the debut album to be somewhat bizarre. Personally I think that the debut was much more interesting and forward-thinking. The album is also very strangely recorded, with a muddy sound, which creates some serious aural problems which make hearing properly everything that is played by the musicians very difficult. I have no idea if this was done on purpose as part of the album´s overall concept, but it was definitely a mistake. Although Obara and Gaweda play some very impressive solo parts on this album, those are somehow less impressive than their usual output. Overall this album manages to achieve much less than the impressive lineup would promise and especially in view of the superb debut recording by the core trio of this quintet. It is of course still partly very good music, but the album lacks focus and coherence, and sadly does not excite at all. Of course this is just my personal opinion.

Updated: 10/04/2019Posted: 27/05/2017

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend