File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:33
Size: 104,9 MB
Art: Front
(4:24) 1. The Time Will Come
(4:42) 2. Words
(4:04) 3. Heroes
(5:59) 4. A Trace of Grace
(5:17) 5. I'm a Migrant
(5:40) 6. Unsleepers
(7:07) 7. Go Deep
(5:20) 8. Sorriso
(2:57) 9. BallAda
On the various dates of the 2021 autumn season of A Jazz Supreme, the review that the Musicus Concentus has been organizing for years at the Sala Vanni in Florence, there were among others the concerts of WeTuba, the latest formation by Ada Montellanico with which the singer has recently released a record, and of the Monumental Duo, composed by Roberto Ottaviano and Alexander Hawkins.
Montellanico appeared on stage on October 29, at the head of (but, as we will see, it is more correct to say "together with") a quintet of first choice musicians: Simone Graziano on piano, Francesco Ponticelli on double bass, Bernardo Guerra on drums and special guest Michel Godard at tuba and serpentone. Although the singer plays a central role, the formation is in fact fundamentally equal, thanks also to the way in which she worked on the preparation of the repertoire which was then finished on the album of the same name: all unpublished material developed for this ensemble, with written songs. from each of the protagonists, plus a couple of compositions signed by Paolo Fresu, who is also present on the CD to interpret them as a guest. Such a partnership was felt both in the complex variety of the program and in the way in which the musicians moved in its realization.
On the first floor, in fact, the compositions that followed explored a multiplicity of musical universes, ranging from the simple song"Sorriso," by Fresu to the singer's lyrics - to duets between voice and tuba / serpetone with a baroque taste in "A Trace of Grace," by Godard, or more rhythmic in "Ballada," by Ponticelli and to singular moments recalling rock - "Heroes," by Graziano up to surprising moments with a Lacyan flavor - in "The Time Will Come, "by Grazieno and Ponticelli, always based on texts by Montellanico. On the second, however, the space given to the expressiveness of each one proved to be an added value, with Godard free to join the voice of the singer, Graziano who alternated the accompaniment with more abstract and rarefied interventions, Ponticelli ready to enter the plots not only as a rhythmic column and Guerra who intervened with measure, but also with decision where this could mark changes of pace or scenario.
All this, in addition to building a sound stage on which the singer could show all her flexibility, gave the music a considerable breadth and freshness, contributing together with the value of the performers and the social and political contents of most of the lyrics to the excellent success of the evening. The concert held two weeks later, on November 12, by Roberto Ottaviano and Alexander Hawkins, called themselves Monumental Duo in homage to the jazz greats with whom they had the opportunity to play and / or are authors of the compositions that are part of the repertoire, was very different. training. Frequent collaborators since, a few years ago, they released together one of the CDs of the double album that the saxophonist dedicated to Maestro Steve Lacy, Forgotten Matches, the two have in fact presented themselves with a program largely composed of songs from the sixties and seventies, many of them by South African authors like the first, by Harry Miller but also by Ornette Coleman or Mal Waldron among the Hawkins masters and with whom Octavian recorded the splendid duo album Black Spirits Are Here Again many years ago.
The understanding between the two, the common love for the music staged, the beauty of the latter itself, but above all the way - at the same time respectful and personal in which the two artists re-proposed it made the evening one of the best concerts that the writer has attended during the year. Ottaviano alternated soprano, sopranino and alto saxophone, interpreting the lyrical parts with great poetry, producing extremely touching solos; Hawkins, for his part, has expressed himself in an amazing way, putting his well-known technical skills - decidedly extraordinary, but which sometimes runs the risk of using a little too much ends in themselves - at the service of the musical content, enhancing aspects or giving it nuances unprecedented, thanks to a multiple and often unexpected work on the keyboard: counterpoints between the two hands, thunderous accompaniments with the left while the right described the theme or duet with the sax, and much more. Show of the highest level, which deserves a recorded documentation, which the two artists are thinking about and which we take the opportunity to solicit.~ Neri Pollastri https://www.allaboutjazz.com/ada-montellanico-wetuba-e-monumental-duo
Personnel: Ada Montellanico, voce; Michel Godard, tuba, serpentone; Simone Graziano, pianoforte; Francesco Ponticelli, contrabbasso; Bernardo Guerra, batteria
Montellanico appeared on stage on October 29, at the head of (but, as we will see, it is more correct to say "together with") a quintet of first choice musicians: Simone Graziano on piano, Francesco Ponticelli on double bass, Bernardo Guerra on drums and special guest Michel Godard at tuba and serpentone. Although the singer plays a central role, the formation is in fact fundamentally equal, thanks also to the way in which she worked on the preparation of the repertoire which was then finished on the album of the same name: all unpublished material developed for this ensemble, with written songs. from each of the protagonists, plus a couple of compositions signed by Paolo Fresu, who is also present on the CD to interpret them as a guest. Such a partnership was felt both in the complex variety of the program and in the way in which the musicians moved in its realization.
On the first floor, in fact, the compositions that followed explored a multiplicity of musical universes, ranging from the simple song"Sorriso," by Fresu to the singer's lyrics - to duets between voice and tuba / serpetone with a baroque taste in "A Trace of Grace," by Godard, or more rhythmic in "Ballada," by Ponticelli and to singular moments recalling rock - "Heroes," by Graziano up to surprising moments with a Lacyan flavor - in "The Time Will Come, "by Grazieno and Ponticelli, always based on texts by Montellanico. On the second, however, the space given to the expressiveness of each one proved to be an added value, with Godard free to join the voice of the singer, Graziano who alternated the accompaniment with more abstract and rarefied interventions, Ponticelli ready to enter the plots not only as a rhythmic column and Guerra who intervened with measure, but also with decision where this could mark changes of pace or scenario.
All this, in addition to building a sound stage on which the singer could show all her flexibility, gave the music a considerable breadth and freshness, contributing together with the value of the performers and the social and political contents of most of the lyrics to the excellent success of the evening. The concert held two weeks later, on November 12, by Roberto Ottaviano and Alexander Hawkins, called themselves Monumental Duo in homage to the jazz greats with whom they had the opportunity to play and / or are authors of the compositions that are part of the repertoire, was very different. training. Frequent collaborators since, a few years ago, they released together one of the CDs of the double album that the saxophonist dedicated to Maestro Steve Lacy, Forgotten Matches, the two have in fact presented themselves with a program largely composed of songs from the sixties and seventies, many of them by South African authors like the first, by Harry Miller but also by Ornette Coleman or Mal Waldron among the Hawkins masters and with whom Octavian recorded the splendid duo album Black Spirits Are Here Again many years ago.
The understanding between the two, the common love for the music staged, the beauty of the latter itself, but above all the way - at the same time respectful and personal in which the two artists re-proposed it made the evening one of the best concerts that the writer has attended during the year. Ottaviano alternated soprano, sopranino and alto saxophone, interpreting the lyrical parts with great poetry, producing extremely touching solos; Hawkins, for his part, has expressed himself in an amazing way, putting his well-known technical skills - decidedly extraordinary, but which sometimes runs the risk of using a little too much ends in themselves - at the service of the musical content, enhancing aspects or giving it nuances unprecedented, thanks to a multiple and often unexpected work on the keyboard: counterpoints between the two hands, thunderous accompaniments with the left while the right described the theme or duet with the sax, and much more. Show of the highest level, which deserves a recorded documentation, which the two artists are thinking about and which we take the opportunity to solicit.~ Neri Pollastri https://www.allaboutjazz.com/ada-montellanico-wetuba-e-monumental-duo
Personnel: Ada Montellanico, voce; Michel Godard, tuba, serpentone; Simone Graziano, pianoforte; Francesco Ponticelli, contrabbasso; Bernardo Guerra, batteria
WeTuba
