| Recorded and mixed in December 2007 at TOP STUDIO
Ravenna (Italy)
Stefania Rava: Vocals
Claudio Filippini: Piano
Marcello di Leonardo: Drums
Dario Rosciglione: Double bass
Roberto Rossi: Trombone
Guido Pistocchi: Trumpet
When hearing the newest piece of work by Stefania Rava the
listener is immediately captivated for two good reasons:
the first is the fact that we are talking about real music
that is capable of grabbing all your senses and the second,
tightly dependent on the first, is the way in which this singer
manages to let you forget all the complicated things about
jazz letting your ears concentrate on her voice;
a voice that contains two fundamental components such as sweetness
and a quiet melancholy tied to her very personal vocal intention.
In this recording there is also the artistic stature, the
hard work by her collaborators and an excellent choice of
guests:
Roberto Rossi and Guido Pistocchi, even though having just
a short time in the recording studio, the feeling that emerges
from the musicians is the result of an artistic project that
has been performed in a very sincere way by people who truly
love what they do on a daily basis.
It is music that has room to breathe. The listener finds themselves
in front of a 'groove' that is never calm and collected but
instead always lively:
the piano in the knowing hands of Claudio Filippini is an
'alive' instrument that breathes in harmony with him and leaves
space for those beautiful surprises that arise once in a recording
studio.
I recently took a look at the website of Claudio where I noticed
a phrase/motto of his that said 'it plays like never before'
that expresses brilliantly a concept that I have approved
and upheld for a long time...
To reinforce this theory is certainly the fact of the presence
of the very valid and very professional musicians who with
their talent and creativeness amalgamate wonderfully into
an ensemble, holding everything together and offering that
peculiarity that makes this a very precious object!
A record of colourful sparks in which the very clear voice,
full of rich shades that Rava knows how to use to their best,
is continuously accompanied by the musicians in a way that
almost speaks to each other and unleashes some wonderful dialogues
resulting in a very rich and very expressive outcome.
And if the final result is trademarked by swing and the agility
of the vocals (a great example of this can be heard in 'Send
In The Clowns') there are also other more touching moments
when hearing the vocal jazz of 'Speak Low' or 'When Sunny
Get's Blue' that allows you to enjoy the interpretive talents
of Stefania Rava in other contexts also.
Speaking of such I have to thanks, as always, Guido Pistocchi
who organised in a perfect and prudent way this ensemble of
musicians who have come out with something that in my mind
is one of the best musical productions that I have done, I
would also like to thank Dario Rosciglione and Marcello Di
Leanardo for their linear and efficient contribution to the
rhythmic part of this album up to the point where my presence
in the studio was sometimes not needed at all...
The final result is truly a beautiful piece of work.
An intriguing piece of listening, delicate and brilliantly
executed and interpreted it runs at a great pace but doesn't
slip away, it even hovers over some thin but deep sentiments,
fusing them together in one song (the most ironic) that is
dedicated to a world renowned football player:
Andrea Pirlo; 'Sambandrea' is in fact the title of the song
that I wanted realised by Guido Pistocchi and Stefania Rava
for this album.
The motivation was in fact the personality of this player
that in my mind has much to do with the world of jazz in such
that it is capable of surprising you, even in the most difficult
of moments, with great intuition and improvisation.
[Paolo Scotti] |
