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- Written by: Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
It's refreshing to hear, especially in the modern music business, how many risks an artist is prepared to take, especially when said artists are putting their reputation on the line. But then again, where it's true enough that investing on a project where the artist in question is ready to give full space for improvisation to their fellow musicians playing on the record can be seen as a bit risky, it's also true that by giving that space for creativity to those musicians, they will feel themselves trusted enough to help creating a body of work for the artist in question that will push themselves to give the best of their musicianship.
For those that have been fortunate enough to hear a Free-Form Jazz album of the caliber of Sou Makuri, by the Scandinavia-based quintet Shinken Shobu, they will be perhaps inclined to share our website's feeling, about this precious and delightful album, given its high quality content.
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- Written by: Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
Italian version
Ci sono dei dischi speciali che nascono per caso e forse, anche grazie a segrete dinamiche celesti. Cio' che rende detti dischi ancora piu' speciali avviene quando due artisti, appartenenti a due diversi macrocosmi musicali, riescono a sposare i loro rispettivi stili, facendoli confluire in un contesto comune dove possono applicare sperimentazioni musicali che unificano due mondi musicali diversi, facendoli diventare un tutt'uno.
Quale sia stata la molla che ha spinto a collaborare due celebrati artisti come il bassista, multi-strumentalista, produttore e compositore di colonne sonore cinematografiche italiano Gianni Maroccolo e il chitarrista australiano dei Bad Seeds, nonche' cantante, autore e frontman del gruppo Post-Punk The Wreckery, Hugo Race, a scrivere e registrare un disco in combutta chiamato The Vigil, non ci e' dato saperlo ma chiunque dei due avesse proposto questa collaborazione musicale, ci aveva visto davvero lungo sin dall'inizio.
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- Written by: Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
It's rather refreshing, in the contemporary music establishment, to hear a live recording of artists where the music takes complete and solely centre stage and it's not contaminated by screams, singalong and applauses of crowds halfway of a performance, leaving said crowds instead to soak in the atmosphere, creativity and extemporaneity that is generated by that magic called music.
That magic is something that our website was able to capture on From Bach To Ellington - Live, a sumptuous live album by British saxophonist Andy Sheppard and Swiss pianist and composer Michael Arbenz, two highly esteemed authorities in the current Jazz scene.
Read more: Michael Arbenz Meets Andy Sheppard - From Bach To Ellington - Live
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- Written by: Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
In the music scene, it may take some time to gestate a record that defines a solo artist or a band's philosophy, the ultimate labour of love, that complete masterpiece able to fit perfectly the often intricated and hard to achieve lyrical and sonic mosaic that defines an exceptional record.
In many ways, this is what, in our website opinion, happened to the Italian Synth-Rock and New Wave collective called Zephiro through their latest album called Baikonur, an exceptional collection of songs that has the unique power of combining uplifting melodies with a fascinating, although occasionally erratic songwriting style, but still with excellent results.
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- Written by: Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
The story of American singer-songwriter and pianist John McAndrew is one of those that reminds you of an imaginary ship that was on the brink to sink in a sea storm but found refuge, miraculously, in a sheltered windless bay at the very last minute.
McAndrew's storm, in that respect, has been blowing wildly for a very ample chunk of the artist's life on a personal level, where heavy drinking issues had almost brought to the ground the American singer-songwriter's health.
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- Written by: Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
Among all the instruments related to the power and the intensity that Blues music generates, there is no doubt whatsoever that Harmonica is right up there, with its unique sound able to capture feelings and moods in the most minute details, expressing melancholy and joy in equal strong and convincing way, like no other instrument is able to do.
In the last 6 decades-plus of Harmonica Blues, nobody can denie that the name of the American artist, singer/songwriter and Harmonica Supremo Charlie Musselwhite has sat and still sits comfortably on top of the rank of the most talented and inspirational Harmonica Blues players of the last century.
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- Written by: Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
Funny sometimes how a genre like the Blues, often labelled as The Devil's Music, it can walk hand in hand with songs about religious themes in perfect harmony, demystifying completely the unreasonable nickname given to the Blues.
Even when the Blues gets drenched with tinges of Gospel, its message and communicative power transcend any form of popular legend attributed to a genre which has largely proved, through the decades, to carry a powerful link between the need of human beings of having a spiritual guide and their constant search for inner peace within.
