This CD marked the start of a fruitful and long lasting collaboration with Attilio, Tommy and Michele and the Italian Quartet.
The idea behind this CD was to work on newly composed material from all band members, thus creating an overall colourful sound made possible by the different influences each of us has had musically.My musical background relies mainly in the bebop tradition with a growing passion for open ballads and odd time signatures hence my newly written ballad 'Farewell Capa' dedicated to the photographer Robert Capa and the arrangement of Oscar Pettiford's 'Bohemia After Dark' in 7/4.I also enjoy trying adding sense of humour to my compositions so 'Divieto di Sosta' ( 'No Parking') is a funky composition dedicated to all those frustrated road users that have unjustly been fined by the police.Attilio's composition 'Go Tom', reflects the style of writing he likes to use mostly these days: a simple and strong melody in the head accompanied by a groove in 'even eights'. Not surprisingly the Electric years of Miles Davis, in particular one of his concerts in Milano in 1971 (where Miles was accompanied by Keith Jarrett, Gary Bartz, Airto Moreira, Jack DeJohnette and Michael Hederson) were of great inspiration to Attilio and to his musicianship, and as he puts it: 'In those days music seemed to come from a different planet and stimulated me and other young aspiring musicians to try and seek different ways of expression within the jazz tradition'.His choice of rearranging Stevie Wonder's tune 'Overjoyed' is further proof of his statement.Tommy's playing is strongly rooted in the Bebop tradition and his sound on the drums and strong sense of time and swing give me great pleasure while soloing.In this recording he contributed with a pretty composition based on a blues in 7/4, 'Seven Blues'. The tune is simple and effective and it's accompanied by a tricky ostinato groove played by the rhythm section; his compositional and arranging skills are backed up by a good knowledge of piano playing, infact Tommy doesn't only play the drums!Michele's 'Romantic' approach to jazz with classical influences along the way make him stand out as a unique player; his harmonic ability, strong sense of melody and great use of dynamics in his playing generate inspiring solos.Here in this recording Michele has decided to write a piece alla 'Kenny Garrett' reflecting the kind of writing and sound used today for the alto saxophone.
Read what jazz critic and author Vittorio Franchini says in the liner notes of the CD