October 6, 2006
Review: Roberto Magris Europlane - Il Bello del Jazz
Roberto recently sent me his newest Europlane disc, Il Bello del Jazz. I've been listening to it lot lately. You'll be sure to hear it in heavy rotation soon on the Classic Jazz Corner. This CD is another great example of the kind of high quality jazz being recorded in, and birthed from, Italy. Roberto hails from Trieste (Google Maps), which is in northeastern Italy just at the border to Slovenia, at the northern end of the Adriatic Sea.
Magris's playing is superb on this recording. He's got a great ear for both melody and harmony. He proves his agility as a band leader with his ability to support the soloists so well. Herb Geller's tone is spot-on throughout the disc, and the production sounds fantastic. Not many new CDs sound so well. It's clean but not overproduced or sterile-sounding, that phenomenon oh so common to contemporary recordings. Perhaps it's the Italian wine influence that makes the production sound so great.
Roberto contributes three originals: "No Sadness", "Il Bello del Jazz", and "Parker's Pen." They're all up-tempo and give a lot of room for soloists to improvise. Jurkovich's guitar work on the opener is top-notch, and Engel's bass solo on "Il Bello del Jazz" is expressive and forceful. The band really smokes on "Here I'll Stay." The CD also contains moments of reflection on the slower, meandering tracks "Some Other Spring", "A New Town is a Blue Town", and "Pretty Woman", allowing Magris and Geller to showcase their attention to melody and grace.
Track listing:
1. No Sadness
2. Stray Form
3. Some Other Spring
4. Key Largo
5. A New town Is A Blue Town
6. Here I’ll Stay
7. Ah Moore
8. Il Bello Del Jazz
9. Pretty Woman
10. Parker’s Pen
11. Deception
Musicians:
Roberto Magris (p)
Herb Geller (as)
Darko Jurkovic (g)
Rudi Engel (b)
Gabriele Centis (d)
Album ratings (in blue notes):
Production: 4.5(5)
Composition: 4(5)
Improvisation: 4(5)
Groove Factor: 4.5(5)
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Overall Rating: 4.25(5)
If you live near/in Los Angeles, be sure to check him out out live:
Catalina Bar and Gril (Hollywood) October 11 and 12
The Jazz Bakery (Culver City) October 16
:: Happy sounds ::
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August 13, 2006
New Playlist and the Alboran Trio
All new jazz tracks have been uploaded - 20 hours of smokin' jazz.
Be sure to listen to featured artists The Alboran Trio, a fresh Italian trio with well-grounded roots and a voice of their own. The trio is composed of pianist/composer Paolo Paliaga, bassist Dino Contenti, and drummer Gigi Biolcati. The compositions and playing are beautiful and moving. Click here to listen/buy the CD.
I've also uploaded a good deal of straight-ahead and hardbop from Miles, Coltrane, Hank Mobley, Cannonball, and Lee Morgan among many more great cuts.
Happy sounds
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copyright :: peder e. horner, m.d. 2000-2007
March 8, 2006
Review: Marco di Marco and Gruppo Jazz Marca
The new play list also contains some great tracks from Italian jazz artists Marco di Marco and Roberto Magris's Gruppo Jazz Marca. I think you will find that they are both accomplished musicians, who, for some reason, I'd never before heard. These are both recent re-releases by Arision Recordings from London. I really like the groove that they lay down on these albums. In fact, there has been a rekindled interest in these musicians, as electronica DJs have apparently been mixing and spinning certain songs at clubs in Europe. Both musicians have a real sense of composition and creativity. Both albums are refreshing to listen to.
Posted by pederhorner at 9:41 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
copyright :: peder e. horner, m.d. 2000-2007