Italian Jazz: Roberto Gatto, The Man Behind the Kit

Rea, Sellani, Basso, Pieranunzi...the first four of my Italian series was begun during the summer, and has been on hiatus for quite a while.

Today, I am picking it up again with drummer extraordinaire Roberto Gatto, clearly the go to drummer for much of the past three decades among Italian jazz players. Gatto has an exhaustive list of leader discs, but even a greater number of CDs as the beat behind those great names listed above as well as many others. One clear reason for his position in the pantheon of drummers is his great flexibility -- he can get out in front and drive a band with the best of them, he can drop bombs when needed or back off and provide quiet but insistent support, or he can be a colorist playing whispering brushes and gentle sticks. He is adaptable to a range of music, as will be seen in the discography presented here, and he writes great tunes, be they lyrical romantic themes, jaunty  swing songs, or simple modern creative jazz.  I've yet to come across a disc with Gatto playing hat I have not enjoyed, whether as the leader or as a member of some awesome groups.

Gatto was born in Rome in October 1958, so he turns 54 this month. He began playing professionally  in 1975 with the Trio di Roma, a superstar group in the making with Danilo Rea on piano and Enzo Pietropaoli on bass. Since then, he has built a solid reputation and large portfolio playing all over the world. His own groups are characterized by the first class techniques of himself and his support players, along with a sterling ear for composition, for the subtleties of timbre, and by a warmth typical of his mediterranean roots.

Roberto Gatto is one interesting and original drummer and composer. A list of his collaborators is a who's who of jazz: as a sideman, he has played with Dave Liebman, Phil Woods, James Moody, Barney Wilen, Ronnie Cuber, Michael Brecker, Joe Lovano,  Curtis Fuller,  Cedar Walton, Tommy Flanagan, John Scofield, John Abercrombie, Bobby Hutcherson, Joe Zawinul, and Pat Metheny. As a leader he has recorded fifteen albums with many of the first names in Italian jazz: Enrico Pieranunzi, Franco D'Andrea, Stefano Bollani, Enrico Rava, Paolo Fresu, Rosario Giuliani, Gabriele Mirabassi among others.  

Of the 15 as leader, his first, which I do not have, was made in 1986 with Michael Brecker, "Note" (Gala 1986).  Heck of a way to start a recoding career. Of the remaining fourteen, I have  seven.
 

"Improvissi" (Gala 1989) was his third recording, with co-leader Danilo Rea on piano, and some quiet supporting strings in the background on selected tunes. I have already praised Rea in an earlier post, and here the outstanding pianist and drummer play an assortment of songs covering jazz interpretations of classical music, highlighted by "The Moldau" by Smetna and Debussy "La Lotta." As would be expected, Gatto provides a delacate touch on the disc, mostly colorations with brushes and light high hat work. There is one solo percussion piece on which Gatto gets to demonstrate his use of his complete kit, an interlude between the duets. This is not an essential disc to hear, but is a very lyrical and lovely set mostly notable for Rea's piano.

Gatto says in his liner notes to "Rugantino" (CAM Jazz 2001) that he had been struck in 1978 at age 20 by the music to the movie "Rugantino", which was composed by Armando Trovaioli. The popular folk-style music of the movie had stuck with him for years, and in 1999 he began to assemble a group to undertake this project, with the blessing of the composer himself. Working with the arranger Paolo Silverstri, he put together an amazing group from among the best Italy had to offer: Enrico Rava, Enrico Pieranunzi, Gabriele Mirabassi, Rosario Giuliani, Luca Bulgarelli, Gianluca Petrella and others came together with the Orchestra Roma Sinfonieta to create this masterwork. Opening with an overture, just as one would hear at a Broadway show, one immediately is drawn into the drama and emotions that infuse the entire score. Ravae and Pieranunzi are clearly the masters of their instruments, but the saxes of Giuliani, the trombone of Petrella and clarinets of Mirabassi, all leaders in their own right, are equally magnificent. This is Gatto's vision beautifully realized by world class players, and a delight to listen to for those who like the concept of a jazz score, with lots of ensemble play along with selected solos that jump from the speakers. Gatto here was the facilitator and while his drumming is omnipresnet setting time, pushing certain sections along, and coloring others, it is the entire band itself that is the star. Great music throughout, a tour de force of orchestral interplay. Should not be missed if this type of group and music is your cup of tea.

"Traps" (CAM Jazz 2007) displays another facet of Gatto, as a composer of 9 of the 10 tracks on this disc. Gatto also has a chance to stand out more on this quartet disc, with Daniele Tittarelli on alto and soprano saxes, Luca Mannutza on piano, and Luca Bulgarelli on bass. Gatto demonstrates a passionate, nuanced, and lyrical style in his writing, which provides wonderful opportunities for his bandmates to shine, particularly Tittarelli on his alto sax. Gatto clearly also has a playful side, as demonstrated in the jaunty title tune. "Traps" is a terrifically upbeat bounce with a simple but very effective little tune captured first by the bright sound of the alto and later the piano. Gatto provides the timekeeping and uses his full arsenal with snares, toms, high hats and cymbals creating the movement that makes this an outsatnding, cheerful tune. Going back, the first two pieces, which precede "Traps", demonstrate the lyrical side of his writing, starting with long and lovely legato lines for  the piano and sax and gentle whispers from the drumset. Later Gatto's compositions "Octagonal" and "Monkish" are just that, a bit more angular or jagged, with appropriate spaces and jaunty melodic lines. This is an outstanding CDs of Gatto's work. 

That next CD is "The Music Next Door" (Emarcy  2009) and it is killer, with Tittarelli again on the saxes, Rosario Bonaccorso on bass, and two of the biggest shining stars in Italian jazz, Stefano Bollani on piano and Paolo Fresu on trumpet. The quintet clearly demonstrates the highest degree of musicianship possible. From their long relationships from many other ensembles and records, they also demonstrate their abilities to hear and complement each other, and demonstrate outstanding ensemble play.  The music is a bit livelier than "Traps", with Gatto's six originals more upbeat, giving him a greater opportunity to lead from the back. The group plays in the great tradition of quintets like this, with opening statements of the tunes followed by each player taking a turn on solos before a return to ensemble play. The tunes themselves are nicely composed, the harmonics easy on the ear and tuneful -- this is modern creative jazz with its legacy clearly steeped in tradition. Gatto is omnipresent setting the pace, coloring the tunes, or pushing the beat, but is never in your face -- he is never bombastic, and doens't need to prove his mettle by being out front. A great turn for everyone and terrific play by Fresu and Pieranunzi make this a must listen if you want to hear Gatto's conceptions at their best.

As noted above, Gatto clearly is part of the great tradition of drummers dating back into the 50s and 60s, and he demonstrates his debt to one of them with two tribute discs, "Remembering Shelly" (Albore Jazz 2009) and "Remembering Shelly 2" (Albore Jazz 2010).  Again using a "standard" quintet reflective of the groups of Shelly Manne, he has Giuseppe Bassi on bass, Luca Mannutza on piano, Max Ionata on sax, and Macro Tamburini on trumpet. These are live recordings played at the same sessions, and include several songs that were from Manne's "book" along with a couple of Gatto orginals done in the same vein. These are two wonderfully upbeat, swinging bop discs, with Gatto's steady hand given full rein to play in the Manne/60s style. Strong leadership and timekeeping, steady high hat and bass drum set the tempo for terrific interpretations of "Nightingale", "Fan Tan", and Speak Low" for example could have been right out of the days of Shelly's Manne Hole, with unison play as well as solos by the trumpet and sax. This is A-One hard bop in a live setting, which adds to the electricity that can be felt throughout. Two great tributes that are not slavish to the past, but rather terrific interpretations thereof.

Finally, I cannot leave Gatto without noting that he has over 50 recordings as a side man as a contributor to many other fine CDs. Of note from my collection, I would list these:

• Enrico Pieranunzi "Jazz Roads" (CAM Jazz 1980)
• Tommaso, Rava Quartet "La Dolce Vita" (CAM Jazz 2000)  
• Phil Woods "Embraceble You" (Philology 1988)
• Rava, Fresu Quintet "Shades of Chet" (Via Veneto 1999)
• Rava "The Words and the Days" (ECM 2005)
• Bollani and Gatto, "Gershwin and More Live" (Philology 2006)

A Younger Generation Pianist in Italy: Danilo Rea and Doctors 3

As should be clear from previous posts, there is a coterie of Italian jazz musicians that not only lead their own bands but also work collectively together in a variety of places and settings. Pieranunzi, Basso, and Sellani are three of the grand masters, and each not only has played music with many others but each has also mentored the next generation.

This post brings to the fore one of the younger, but no less talented, pianists, Danilo Rea, whose name has already come up in conjunction with the CDs of the masters. Rea is a comparative youngster, born in Vincenza in 1957, educated at the Santa Cecilia Music Conservatory in Rome, debuting on record for the first time in 1975 with the Rome Trio of Roberto Gatto and Enzo Pietropaoli (two names for a later post)and debuting as a leader on record only in 2003.  Since then, AllMusic lists him as leader on about a dozen CDs, as well as a supporting member of countless others. He is also a member of a wonderfully inventive trio, Doctors 3, which I will include in this post as well.

During his career, he has worked with Chet Baker, Lee Konitz, Phil Woods, Art Framer, Curtis Fuller and Kenny Wheeler among international stars. Running further down the list is like looking at the "Who's Who" of Italian Jazz: Paolo Fresu, Renato Sellani, Franco D'Andrea, Roberto Gatto, Enzo Petropaoli, Flavio Boltro, Aldo Romano, Giovanni Tomasso, and Pietro Tonolo are sprinkled throughout his discography. Finally, he is also sought after as a player of Italian pop music, and has played behind many Italian pop singers. His work with  the piano trio Doctors 3 highlights that aspect of his play very well.

Rea is a player who is capable of performing across the broadest of musical categories, from classical music to jazz and pop music. As a young disciple of the masters and child of the 60s and 70s, Rea's influences extend across a wider range of music than Sellani and even Pieranunzi, although the latter certainly shows the same sparks of modernism and boldness at times that characterizes Rea's work. Rea is certainly more into the modern songbook, but still retains the same attention to melody and the harmonic sensibilities of his masters, never straying too far out of the box. His discography highlights the variety in his work, both in terms of his musical breadth as well as the settings --  solos, duos, trios, and a quintet are all a part of the collection I have of his music. These performances are done both in studio and live from the Umbria Jazz Festival, where Rea has bcome one of the featured performers in each format and with Doctors 3.

His CDs as leader demonstrate that Rea has a number of personalities that he brings to the music.

"Lost in Europe" (Via Veneto Jazz 2000) has one of my favorite whimsical covers, and documents music from a solo piano tour of Europe in the summer of that year. The range of the music is broad and the perfomrances are full of life, expression, and wit. Two pieces were penned by Rea, and several of the pieces are actually mini-suites. To understand the variety in Rea's repetoire, take the seventh piece on the disc, an amalgam of one show tune, "America", one classical piece, "Pour le Piano" by Debussy, one song by Rea, and one Italian song "Un Gioro Dopo L'Altro,"  and watch them unfold seamlessly and effortlessly. "Tico Tico" is magnificently expressive, rapidly paced, with a hidden surprise; "Sospensione so expresssive and with an ending so passionate it could make you cry.  Another suite links the following -- "What a Wonderful World", Time After Time", "La Danza", and "Mr. P.C." The music is incredible, the imagination tremendous, and the playing bold.

"Improvvisi" (Duck Record 2002) is a duo recording with drummer Robert Gatto, a major name in Italy as well. My Italian is not so good, but the liner notes basically say that in the past year the two friends decided upon a collaboration, and to do an ambitious program -- eliminating any pre-ordained playlist and in fact no songs at all unless they came to them spontaneously. They would create from the air the melodies, rhythms, and harmonies. They would be guided by their backgrounds, culture, and communal language. They would let the sounds guide them, and when they were done, they hoped to have a recording worth hearing. And they succeeded and the results speak for themselves, 13 pieces, 11 originals and two others, of varying tempos --  with a common bond of two players who clearly are in touch with each other. Jazz and classical music merges here in the originals, one of which is dedicated to Debussy, and in a lovely rendition of the Moldau by Smetana. Brilliant showmanship.

"Romantica" (Venus Records 2004) is a piano trio, with Ares Tavolazzi on bass and Gatto again on drums. My Italian might be bad, but I cannot read Japanese at all, so the liner notes are useless. But the music is magnifico -- here we have jazz interpretations of what I believe are Italian favorites, of whom I only recognize Ennio Morricone's name. What I do know is that the melodies are all as romantic as advertised in the title, Rea brings to each his full bag of expressive chords, runs, and range of dynamics. Gatto keeps the tempo, adds color, and introduces several of the tunes with the snare and cymbals, that then underlie the melodies. On "Munastero 'E Santa Clara" plays a bongo-like rhythm that adds sparkle to the tune, the second on the disc, and on Tu Si' Na Cosa Grande he maintains a latin beat for Rea's lilting tune. These sound like the "Great Italian Songbook" as sung by Sergio Franchi, Mario Lanza, and others.

"Piano Works X, Danilo Rea at Schloss Elmau: A Tribute to Fabrizio De Andre" (ACT 2010) is a solo recording in a settting that has seen a number of solo piano artists come before. Fabrizio De Andre was an Italian singer-songwriter who died prematurely in 1999, well-known in his homeland for his challenging songs and their subjects, often those who were most in need of aid. Rea has taken this powerful body of work and to it has applied his ample creative powers, as the notes say to create "...classical stud[ies] to chromatically dazzling ballads and from swinging syncopated blues to free jazz impressions." The music overflows with Rea's brilliance, expressive play, and melodic sensibilities once again. Easy to find and well-worth the effort to do so.

Rea returned to Schloss Elmau in 2011 with the trumpet player Flavio Boltro (see yesterday's post on Boltro) for "Opera". In such a brilliant accoustical setting, the sounds from Boltro's trumpet and Rea's Steinway are bell-like, clear and beautifully balanced, as the two cover 12 pieces of Monteverdi, Rossini, Bellini, Giordani, Vivaldi, Puccini, and Cilea, in their own very creative and clearly jazz-tinged way. The passions of the two classically trained players were made for this music, and the drama of the opera is transmuted to their golden sounds and to the improvisations. High drama, big emotions, all of the best characteristics of the opera are here, with a jazz twist, and played through a great range of dynamics to tell their stories. The piece most of us are most familiar with, the "William Tell Overture" concludes the CD and the twists are most evident to the non-opera listener, and very enjoyable as well. It is nothing you have ever heard --some blues, some boogie woogie -- I am sure many opera lovers would have their ears covered early and often. But not the jazz fans.

As I said before, Rea is loved throughout Italy and particularly at the Umbria Jazz Festivals each Jazz Italiano Live used to put out annual recordings from the festival of its major stars, and I have those from 2006 and 2009 by Rea: "Jazz Italiano Live 2006: Danilo Rea" "Jazz Italiano Live 2009: Danilo Rea"   (Azienda Speciale Palaexpo 2006 and 2009). The 2006 disc is a quintet with Marcello Sirignano on violin, Pietro Tonolo on saxes, Giovanni Tommaso on bass, and Massimo Manzi on drums. It is 14 pieces all written by Rea and played nicely by the group, with the crowd clearly enjoying the music, the plyaers, and the energy that readiates from all of it. In 2009, REa played with a trio, inclduing Enzo Pietropaoli on bass and Roberto Gatto on drums, an 11 piece outing that again features all original songs and the ususal high standards expected of the three players.

So who is Danilo Rea? He is a perfomer of astonishing solo concerts based on opera, an improvisor who does concerts in the manner of Keith Jarrett, a lover of the great standards from his country and the U.S., and a nodernist who enjoys the pop music of the 60s, 70s and later. He is bold ands creative, expressive and romantic, and a composer of beautiful tunes. He is lively on stage and in performance on disc, humerous in his choices, and a true entertainer, not unlike another pianist from Italy, Stefano Bollani (who will have his day here as well).

And now onto Rea's other musical identity, that of the pianist in Doctor 3, a trio with Enzo Pietropaoli on bass and Fabrizio Sferra on drums. This is one heck of a fun group, seemingly dedicated to having fun playing largely the music of their youth and mine from the 60s and 70s, interspersed here and there with the Great American Songbook. The music is simply fun and the group projects that in the studio and particularly in live performances at the Umbria Jazz Festivals. Each player is a master of his instrument, and of the repetoire, so the musical expression comes easily and creatively from each. They seem to have 6 CDs in print, of which I have four, as follows: 

In 1999, the first one I have is "The Songs Remain the Same" (Via Veneto Jazz 1999), clearly a reference to Led Zeppelin, and the songs are a mix of pop/rock, standards, and traditional music. Six of the 11 pieces are composites of multiple songs, and the first starts the listener off in a traditional vein, with "Danny Boy" and "Bye Bye Blackbird." From there we have mixes like "A Salty Dog" with Charlie Parker's "Buzzy", "Stairway to Heaven" with "Cam Camini", and "Stella By Starlight" with two lovely melodies by the group and by Domenico Modugno. If this sounds a bit weird it is not; in fact the blends are done seamlessly, and the jazz improvistations polish each piece to a gem-like appeal. U2, Emerson Lake and Palmer, and Peter Gabriel all make an appearance as well on this wonderful set.

In 1999 the group referenced Led Zeppelin in the title; in 2001 they reference themselves. The disc is "Bambini Forever" (Via Veneto Jazz 2001) and expresses wonderfully the child-like fun the group has when they mash the music together. Ten sets this time with only two Lennon and McCartney songs -- "Here There and Everywhere" and "She's Leaving Home" -- not being mash-ups. The rest are three or four song suites, and the range of composers include the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Wayne Shorter, Hammerstein and Kern, Pat Metheny, and Sting; along with several group originals and a set dedicated to Fabrizio De Andre. This is another hit that demonstrates that the jazz songbook can be open to much more than the Great American Standards, and demonstrates exactly how three creative musicians can turn rock into real, believable and enjoyable jazz. 

For "Jazz Italiano Live 2007: Doctor 3" (Azienda Speciale Palaexpo 2007) the group dedicated itself to two composers in a single, unified set of 13 memorable songs that almost everyone knows. The composers are Lennon and McCartney, and the set is a jazz version of "Sargent Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." Jazz traditionalists and purists might scoff at the set, but there is nothing but imagination (no pun intended), free play, and joy in the set. Clearly the trio is enjoying themselves, and the feeling transmits itself to the live audience and over the speakers to those of us hearing it on disc. This is a toe-tapping tour de force for the trio.

In 2008, the trio came back to Umbria once more, and almost one-upped its last performance, on ""Jazz Italiano Live 2008: Doctor 3"(Azienda Speciale Palaexpo 2008), with several more rock hits in a jazz mood, with a few other songs from De Andre and others as well. This time the set varied among the rock composers -- Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin' At Me", Ragni and Rado"s "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" from Hair, Jagger and Richards' "Jumpin' Jack Flash", Paul Simon's "Sound of Silence" and "Mrs. Robinson -- included some pop by Bert Bacharach and Hal David "This Guy's in Love With You" and some soul by Otis Redding ("Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay"). But my personal favorite is the traditional "John Barleycorn Must Die" (done by Traffic) with "Steve Winwood's "Glad".

Doctors 3 must have been created to bring a smile to everyone's faces, and does everytime out. Rea's humor, shown periodically in his works as a leader outside the group, blossoms with this group, and a good time is had by all.

So that is Danilo Rea -- creative, expressive, and a master of many genres. His music is the equal of any pianist playing today, so pick one of his CDs up soon and give him a chance.

NOTE: This was post 100 on this blog. I wan't sure when I started I could get his far or had enough to say, but it turns out I have been enjoying the opportunity to write about something I truly love. I hope that those who are reading this feel the same about jazz, and maybe even about the blog. Thanks to all of you.

Another Italian Maestro: Renato Sellani

Renato Sellani was born in the province of Ancona on the west coast of Italy in 1926, and is another master of the jazz piano; in fact, he is often referred to as "Il Maestro." He came to jazz late, after studying political science at the University in Rome.  It was during this time that he got hooked on jazz, spending a lot of his time in the nightclubs of the capital, and then teaching himself to play the piano at the home of a friend. This was during the period right after World War II when Italy was returning to normalcy after the Fascist era, and  the nightlife was grand.  Sellani evidently was a natural at the piano, since by 1958 he was invited  to Milan by his friend and fellow musician Franco Cerri, widely considered the best guitarist ever produced by that country. Milan was a center of the arts and a major stopping point for American jazz players at that time, and Sellani prospered by being among them. He joined the quintet Basso and Valdambrini, and played in that group for quite a long time, although he also became well known as a solo artist as well. Sellani must have been already recognized as a star, for he met and played with the singer Billie Holiday early on, and then was clearly  good enough to be Chet Baker's first pianist in Italy, and later an accompanist for Sarah and Sarah Vaughan and Helen Merrill.  The pairing produced at least one classic album, "Chet Baker in Milan" (Jazzland/OJC 1959) which is easily recommended and they also toured together. Sellani went on to play with other major figures including Lee Konitz, Sarah Vaughan, Dizzy Gillespie, and Phil Woods; in addition to his Italian comrades such as Rava, Basso, and of course Cerri.

Sellani has few recordings under his name until the late 1990s, when he began his current relationship with the Italian label Philology, for which he has now recorded in excess of 40 albums in a range of settings from solo to small ensembles, most often with the leading players of Italian jazz.  Still, he is hardly a household name in the United States, which according to Thomas Conrad of All About Jazz is almost tragic: "The fact that Sellani is one of the most complete, most romantically seductive interpreters of standards in all of jazz is criminally underappreciated outside Italy."

Sellani has been at it for over 60 years and is a master of the American songbook, along with Italian classics, his own compositions, and a classical repetoire including Chopin and Puccini among others. His creativity is outstanding, his playing luminous. He plays with the grace and delicacy of a master, and his seemingly casual attitude at play is more the product of years of experience than of his actual feeling toward the music. Raised in the period of the big bands and swing, he is definitely grounded in melody, and produces wonderfully lush and loving interpretations of them along with passionate embellishments and improvisations. He has been compared to Hank Jones and Tommy Flanagan, two of the United States' most respected and tasteful pianists of all-time.

As noted earlier, Sellani has recorded prolifically for Philology during the past dozen or so years, seemingly catching up for all those years before. I have six discs of Sellani as leader that are all worthy of listening to and, incredibly, they were recorded between March 2007 and December, yet each is a jewel. I also have a number of discs on which he plays a support role, whcih cover his earlier period, including the Gianni Basso recordings I wrote about yesterday, as well as the Chet Baker mentioned earlier. These will be described when I discuss other Italian leaders. Here then are the seven discs in order of recording date.

The first CD was recorded on March 2007, "La Mia Finestra Su Napoli" (Philology 2007). Translated as "My Window on Naples" and featuring a pretty picture of Naples Bay at night, this solo recording is a paean to Naples and its beauty. The program is purely Italian classics like "Torna a Surriento" and "O Sole Mio" and while we in the U.S. sometimes think of these songs a corny, in Sellani's hands they are anything but. Here they are poetry, as Sellani enhances the beauty of the melodic lines wtih lush chords and simple enhancements. Still, a program that would bring Italians to tears may not live up to  that standard in the U.S. despite the beauty of the music and delicacy with which it is played. Recommended for the beauty and romance but only to those who are not looking for a more standard fare.

In July 2007, Sellani recorded "My Foolish Heart" (Venus Records 2008) with his standing trio of Massimo Moriconi on bass and Massimo Manzi on drums. This is a more standard set of songs taken in fact from the Great American Songbook and features the kind of sound and interplay that one associates here in the U.S. with Hank Jones or Tommy Flanagan. A risque cover but great music inside.

In September 2007, Sellani came right back, this time on Philology, with "Blues for Chet" (Philology 2008), a piano and bass duo with his longtime bassist Massimo Moriconi. With the two playing so closely together and celary listening to each other intently, they role out a series of impeccible melodies, set in 8 sections of paired songs. so they play "Blues for Chet" and "Stella by Starlight" to open, then "My Funny Valentine" with "But Not for Me" and so on tp the end. Delightful, delicious, de-lovely music throughout, with the same attention to melody with just the simplest of frosting added which absolutely will engate you. First class again.

Back in the studio on January 2008, bay now it should be clear to those reading this that Sellani is the romantic master of the standard, a ballad player of the first magnitude, and truly "Il Maestro." The penultimate recording in my collection is "Amapola" (Venus 2008), a duo piano outing with another of the deans of Italian jazz, Danilo Rea. Over 10 songs, the two trade back and forth with the same delicacy and charm each shows so often through the length of their discography (More on Rea in a coming post). The music is part American songbook and part Italian songbook, with a bit of Jobim on "Wave". Another smashing performance.

Next up in December 2008 is a tribute to Cole Porter called "True Love" (Philology 2009) with a few solos, the trio, and on a couple of songs, either Fabrizio Bosso on trumpet or Joe Lee Wilson on vocals. Sellani's piano playing is made for Cole Porter's music, and this does not dissapoint. From a snappy "Begin the Beguine" and "Just One of Those Things" to the lilting beauty of "I Love Paris" and "So In Love", the music exudes the warmth, charm, and even houmor of Porter's music and lyrics, even without the words. Classic.

Finally, Sellani takes on one of the true romantic composers of our times, Michel Legrand, on "Grand Piano" with his trio of Moriconi and Manzi. He actually mixes 6 solos in with 8 trio recordings, among them gloriously moving takes of "Windmills of You Mind", You Must Beleive in Spring", "I Will Wait for You ( twice, as a solo and trio), and "Summer of '42." Romance is clearly in the air, and Sellani brings it to you with his usually expressive play and lush improvisations along the way.

Sellani is "Il Maestro", and is among the most traditional of all jazz piano players. His strength is taking well know melodies and breathing into them deep expression and romance enahnced with his own embellishments and improvisations. Not a risk taker, but a delight to listen to.

     

Get to Know the Italians

When I began this blog one of my objectives was to introduce players who somehow have stayed below the radar. Some might be new players to the scene, others might be on small labels with low promotional budgets, and some may perform infrequently or in a limited area. Some may just get overlooked despite a long record of accomplishment, a la Jessica Williams who I wrote about yesterday. And many are foreign players who just do not seem to get the amount of press given to Americans unless they are on a  major label (ECM, CamJazz, ACT seem to lead in that category), and even then they are generally less widely known because they appear less frequently in the U.S. or are reviewed less frequently in "Downbeat" or "Jazz Times" than their U.S. counterparts.

I previously posted on jazz players from the U.K., and have also written individual reviews of a great many recordings from the U.K. Beginning with this post, I intend to do the same for the Italians, who are extremely well represnted in my collection. I love all things Italian. The food is delicious, the art magnificent, the wine glorious, the country beautiful, and the language resonant. Words like "Montepulciano" and "Cinque Terre" roll off the tongue, "Chianti" brings images of Tuscany, "Barbera d'Asti" of the Piedmont, and all of it brings images of  platters of fine foods. Prosciutto and melone, cannoli,  chianti, gnocchi...I could go on for a while like this.

Italy for me is a lyrical place of great beauty, and the music of its leading jazz players follows suit. I have a substantial collection of Italian jazz, and it is almost exclusively full of richly melodic, lyrical, and captivating recordings. The Italian musical heritage of Puccini, Verdi, Rossini et al is one of glorious melodies and opera, and I believe the Italian ear was trained for that same type of music in its jazz heritage, amplified by the music brought by  touring Americans of the 40s and 50s like Chet Baker and others, and of ex-pats like Dexter Gordon and others. In the tones of Rava and Fresu I hear the echoes of Baker; in the rounded tones of Basso I hear the sounds of Gordon and Getz; and in the  pianism of Pieranunzi, Sellani, Rea and others I hear the lush harmonies of pianists like Evans or Tyner as well as of the other instrumentalists.

Today's players of course are expanding the pallette and bringing in more modern sounds, along with electronics, and the heritage of other musical traditions; but for me, the jazz music of Italy is captured by the older masters and their disciples, some of whom are the young lions on the scene carrying on the traditonal sounds and some of whom are expanding the boundaries of Italian jazz.

Over  the next several weeks or even months, I am going to spotlight the leaders who populate my collection of Italian jazz. To begin the effort I pulled from my shelves as many of my CDs as I could find. My collection is neither alphabetized nor in any other way highly organized (someday.....), and I expect that as of today I have forgotten somebody. If so, please send me a comment on who I may have missed in the list below.  

Without further ado, and organized by instrument, I will be commenting on the following players:

Pianists

• Enrico Pieranunzi (pictured on top right)
• Franco D'Andrea
• Renato Sellani (to the right)
• Danilo Rea
• Stefano Bollani
• Roberto Tarenzi 
• Antonio Farao
• Franco Cerri 
• Giovanni Mirabassi  
• Salvatore Bonafede
• Luigi Bonafede 
• Roberto Magris
• Giovanni Guidi
• Stefano Battaglia
• Dado Moroni

Saxes/Clarinets

• Rosario Giuliani
• Massimo Urbani
• Pietro Tonolo
• Francesco Cafiso
• Gianni Basso (above, left)
• Stefano diBatista 

Drums

• Roberto Gatto

Bass

• Giovanni Tomasso
• Enzo Pietropaoli

Trumpet

• Enrico Rava
• Paolo Fresu
• Marco Tamburini
• Fabrizio Bosso

Voice

• Roberta Gambarini (right

Groups

• Doctors Three
• High Five

My first post, coming soon, with be about Enrico Pieranunzi who I consider the Dean of Italian pianists and, for that matter, of Italian jazz, along with other towering figures like Renato Sellani, Franco D'Andrea, and Gianni Basso.