Francesco Cafiso Quartet - Happy Time

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:52
Size: 137,8 MB
Art: Front

( 5:01)  1. Louisiana
(11:57)  2. She Loves Me
( 7:32)  3. Happy Time
( 5:49)  4. Anabel
( 9:50)  5. Blues For Angel
( 5:40)  6. Sir Charles
( 7:59)  7. Goodbye Elvin
( 6:00)  8. The Bear

Many names come to mind as convenient references for precocious jazz talents: Pat Metheny, Brad Mehldau, the Marsalises, Bireli Lagrène, Roy Hargrove, etc. With Happy Time Sicilian-born Francesco Cafiso (born in 1989) earns his place amongst such once-profiled wunderkinds. Having won, among many competitions, the International Massimo Urbani Award at age eleven and the EuroJazz Competition at age thirteen, he has also garnered the attention and support of Italy's principal festival organizers and international musicians alike. Even Wynton Marsalis, who called him "the best thirteen-year-old saxophonist he had ever heard, has hired the altoist for his 2002 European tour. Considering he recorded Happy Time at age sixteen, Cafiso's suprisingly mature style testifies that he absorbed Charlie Parker's bebop vocabulary, as well as Phil Woods and Cannonball Adderley's hard bop phrasing, quite naturally. He masters both genres' idiomatic articulations and possesses a wide-ranging bag of tricks (even throwing the occasional growls and hard-tongued thumps). But he also brings out a lot of himself in his solos, especially on ballads, which he plays convicingly. His dead-on time feel and phrasing exudes confidence and just the right dose of extrovertedness. While Cafiso's heartfelt melodies and precise playing will likely please connoisseurs, the elementary forms (slow blues, minor blues, "Impressions -like modal, rhythm changes and free) of his pieces might bore some listeners. The two ballads, "Goodbye Elvin and "She Loves Me, bring elegance and variety with stellar playing from Cafiso and drummer Stefano Bagnoli. The latter's reputed brushes playing add rhythmic depth to the quartet's overall sound. Their introduction to opening track, "Louisiana, keenly borrows, in spirit, the aforementioned Elvin Jones' famous duos with John Coltrane. ~ Martin Gladu https://www.allaboutjazz.com/happy-time-francesco-cafiso-cam-jazz-review-by-martin-gladu.php

Personnel: Francesco Cafiso: alto saxophone; Riccardo Arrighini: piano; Aldo Zunino: bass; Stefano Bagnoli: drums.

Happy Time

---

Francesco Cafiso Quartet - Seven Steps To Heaven

Styles: Jazz, Neo-Bop
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:32
Size: 132,6 MB
Art: Front

(6:49)  1. Seven Steps To Heaven
(7:16)  2. Green Chimneys
(7:07)  3. Yesterdays
(9:44)  4. On The Trail
(8:08)  5. My Funny Valentine
(6:51)  6. Milestones
(5:33)  7. Crazeology
(6:00)  8. Skylark

Francesco Cafiso surprised the jazz world with his blazing chops in his early teens during a stunning duo concert with veteran pianist Franco D'Andrea. Several years afterward, he is working on developing a distinctive style of his own, which is a challenge for any young musician. These 2006 sessions mix well-known jazz compositions of the 1940s and 1950s with timeless standards, with the alto saxophonist backed by a solid rhythm section consisting of pianist Andrea Pozza, bassist Aldo Zunino, and drummer Nicola Angelucci. He shows off a bit in a wild treatment of Thelonious Monk's "Green Chimneys" that starts in a funky manner, shifts to an aggressive hard bop mood, and also has an unaccompanied solo section. Cafiso's spry take of "Yesterdays" proves convincing, while the exotic rhythm setting of "My Funny Valentine" takes this chestnut into somewhat new territory. There are times where Cafiso reveals his youth by forcing in odd quotes that prove to be more of a distraction than help to his improvisations. But this CD indicates that Francesco Cafiso is serious about a career in jazz and not merely a young flash in the pan who will flame out after a brief foray into the limelight. ~ Ken Dryden  http://www.allmusic.com/album/seven-steps-to-heaven-mw0000772797

Personnel: Andrea Pozza (piano); Nicola Angelucci (drums).

Seven Steps To Heaven

---

Francesco Cafiso - New York Lullaby

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:48
Size: 164,8 MB
Art: Front

( 7:57)  1. Lullaby Of Birdland
( 4:11)  2. Reflections
( 6:26)  3. Polka Dots And Moonbeams
( 9:44)  4. My Old Flame
(11:38)  5. Estate
( 7:23)  6. What's New
( 6:32)  7. Imagination
(10:15)  8. Willow Weep For Me
( 7:42)  9. Speak Low

Yes, he is that good. Or was, on the occasion of this 2005 session, which features the fifteen-year-old native Sicilian saxophonist making his American recording debut accompanied by a crack New York rhythm section. Although it's common to hear rueful expressions about what a Charlie Parker or Clifford Brown might have accomplished had they lived longer, a player as precocious as Francesco Cafiso reminds us of the challenges facing an artist who appears to "be there already, yet has a lifetime before him. In June 2007, when he was seventeen, the altoist made history of sorts when he entered Birdland, the domain named after the music's most acclaimed improviser, to play the "Bird role in a re-creation of the predecessor-father figure's most popular recording, Charlie Parker with Strings. From the evidence on New York Lullaby, the young player is perhaps one of the few musicians up to such a formidable if not unenviable assignment. 

The opening track, Shearing's "Lullaby of Birdland, introduces the listener to the featured performer's qualifications. His sound is full and lustrous, maintained throughout by strong breath support; his articulations are varied, ranging from quick and crisp attacks to expressive legato tonguing; his lines during the pyrotechnical passages are not merely slick but "linguistically dense, capturing the intricacy, complexity and sophistication of Parker's language. At times the youngster is undeniably overly deliberative, extending his high tones to the point that they begin to wear out their welcome. Moreover, in the upper register his commanding sound has a purity and somewhat rapid vibrato that, while winning the approval of "legit players, would not earn him points from Birdwatchers. But it's the ballads that hold the biggest surprises, as the Italian teenager, rather than employ them as virtuoso showcases, exercises the utmost respect for the material itself. Whether he's been listening to singers like Sinatra and Johnny Hartman or absorbed the message from a player like Dexter Gordon, his phrasing, dynamics, and even articulations (with occasional airy cushions of sound) reveal a mature and sensitive interpreter thoroughly familiar with the lyrics of these standards. When I play this recording for acquaintances, the response isn't "He's incredible! but "That's beautiful music. 

Give a lot of credit to David Hazeltine, a pianist capable of storming the instrument and playing fiery, gloves-off bop in the Bud Powell tradition. On this occasion, he as well as bassist David Williams and drummer Joe Farnsworth hold back, being extra careful not to offer the prodigy any unwanted, gratuitous "encouragement to display his stuff. It's as though Hazeltine is saying, "It's just another session, kid. Relax and play the song as beautifully as you know how. That this recording, made in a New York studio with three American musicians, let alone the Cafiso story itself go largely unnoticed by the American public is scandalous. I ordered my copy from a CD import specialist and finally received it in the form of a vinyl LP, with notes in Japanese. Again, shame on the American recording industry. ~ Samuel Chell  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/new-york-lullaby-francesco-cafiso-venus-records-review-by-samuel-chell.php#.VG_dFcmHmtg
 

Personnel: Francesco Cafiso: alto sax; David Hazeltine: piano; David Williams: bass; Joe Farnsworth: drums.

New York Lullaby

---

Cinzia Roncelli And Francesco Cafiso - My Shining Hour

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:59
Size: 137,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:53)  1. My Shining Hour
(4:48)  2. Time After Time
(6:15)  3. Fair Weather
(4:06)  4. I'm Old Fashioned
(6:42)  5. Chan's Song
(5:51)  6. So In Love
(6:14)  7. Moon River
(4:50)  8. All or Nothing At All
(3:59)  9. This Can Be Love
(5:39) 10. Skylark
(7:37) 11. Every Time We Say Goodbye

An anthology of classic without borders and age and a large number of excellent musicians Sicilians by birth or artistic election - a "guest" of the speech torrential Francesco Cafiso - ply the recording debut of Cynthia Roncelli , vocalist and teacher seated in Lombardy. Undici tracks that run through much of the history of jazz navigating between notes by Kenny Dorham, with the mellow ballad Fair Weather (so dear to the great Sheila Jordan ), those of Hancock with Chan's Song (drawn from the soundtrack of the famous film by Tavernier , 'Round Midnight), here in the nuanced lyricism; and still slipping nell'intellettualizzato arrangement of So In Love Cole Porter and, almost obligatory, in the melodic cells, with a consistent matrix " blue ", of Moon River by Harry Mancini. On the same middle register, the other executions, without giving or subtract res nova . And this also seem to suffer the elastic vocal talents of goo Roncelli. Translate by Google
http://www.jazzitalia.net/recensioni/myshininghour.asp#.U9M6qvldUrV

My Shining Hour

---