Release : The Pino Minafra Sud Ensemble - Terronia (ENJA)
Artist : The Pino Minafra Sud Ensemble
Album : Terronia (ENJA)
Genre : Jazz
Source : CDDA
Label : ENJA RECORDS
URL : http://www.minafrasprod.com
Date : 04/13/2005
Quality : VBRkbps 44,1 kHz Joint-Stereo
Tracks : 06
Time : 69:49 min
Size : 97,4 MB
01 Canto General 07:39
02 Maccaroni 13:10
03 A Mia Madre 04:41
04 La Danza Del Grillo 13:16
05 Mediterraneo 11:25
06 Terronia 19:38
This piece of work represents to me a chance to give voice to all my music
experiences, including holy music, the "banda", opera arias, ancient and
symphonic music, pop music, ethnic and rock music, jazz, improvisation and
more. All these experiences, after having been digested and gone through a
metabolic process, surface from my unconscious and memory and take shape
into a warm and generous sound, which crying, melody, rhythm and irony
coexist achieving a strange balance. It wholly southerly sound, drawing
upon a real as well as an imaginary South. It is a sound that neither
wants to nor must please everybody. It was surprising and somewhat
upsetting for me to realise by chance that the same term, "Terronia", had
already been used by Rocco Scotellaro in 1948, denoting human and living
condition related to Southern Italy that existed so long ago and still
existing nowadays to some extent. I dedicate this piece of work to him,
great poet and soul who lived through the tragedy and suffering of the
South of Italy, as well to every South in the world, where, besides pain,
misery and suffering, the very and hope for a fairer world still lie
hidden and preserved somewhere. PINO MINAFRA
An alternative visual image of jazz from the classic view staged on the
streets of Manhattan might be the scenes from The Talented Mr. Ripley,
where jazz accompanies fast drives over rugged Mediterranean coastal
terrain and the principal rooting around '50s LP sleeves in a city store.
Italy has had a long love affair with jazz, the last thirty years seeing
the emergence of a distinctive Italian jazz scene that, while honouring
its American origins, has looked to native traditions to refresh the
music.
Trumpeter Pino Minafra is one of the most colourful players on the Italian
scene. Where Enrico Rava rarely strays too far from the American
blueprint, Minafra draws his inspiration widely, from the '60s avant garde
to the sounds of 16th Century Italy. He was responsible for one of the
great discs of the 1990s, Sudori, has played a leading role in the Italian
Instabile Orchestra, and been a guiding light in the La Banda project that
used a traditional town brass band in both operatic lollipops and
challenging new jazz compositions.
Terronia is a much more composed album than Sudori. Minafra is
geographically particular in his references, dedicating it to the south of
Italy and ôSouths everywhereö! Perhaps the only disappointment is that we
get to hear so little of Minafra the player.
öCanto Generalö opens the disc with the sort of ragged ensemble that once
graced the recordings of the Jazz Composers Orchestra. ôMaccaroniö begins
as a tango before embarking on a wide musical journey through landscapes
evoking Cuba, Mingus-era New York, and New Orleans. On the way strong,
impassioned solos by Carlos Actis Dato (baritone) and Sandro Satta (alto)
are followed by more relaxed statements by Livio Minafra (piano) and Lauro
Rossi (trombone).
ôA Mia Madreö acts like an operatic intermezzo, Livio MinafraÆs
synthesisers used to astonishing effect to provide a rich backdrop for
Pino and the ensemble to enunciate a solemn theme. After a baroque
keyboard introduction, ôLa Danza Del Grillioö returns to MinafraÆs more
exuberant side, its Ellingtonian feel enhanced by superb bass clarinet and
alto from Dato and Satta, respectively, and the composerÆs famous
megaphone vocalising.
The second half of the disc sees the forces of the Sud Ensemble expanded.
ôMediterraneoö adds four female singers, affecting a Renaissance choral
pastiche before embarking on some extraordinary vocal gymnastics. The disc
culminates in the massive twenty-minute title track, performed by Minafra,
the singers, and the Meridiana Multijazz Orchestra. In many respects the
most overtly Italian composition on the album, its themes resemble the
music of 19th Century Italian opera, the central section at last giving
the chance to hear the composerÆs heartfelt trumpet playing.
Terronia is not for listeners who demand extensive improvisation in their
jazz. The sleeve notes openly declare that composition lies at its heart.
It is, however, a superb illustration of one way in which jazz has been
adapted to absorb very different traditions. Strongly recommended to
lovers of orchestral jazz in general and Italian jazz in particular.
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