a r t i s t : Talking Pictures
t i t l e : Ciao Bello
d a t e : 1995
l a b e l : Red Toucan
g e n r e : Instrumental Rock
r l s. d a t e : May/2008
t r a c k s : 14
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 85,2 MB
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Ron Samworth : guitar / effects
Peggy Lee : cello
Bill Clark : trumpet
Dylan van der Schyff : percussion
Recorded April 16 and 17, 1995
Recorded and released in 1995, Ciao Bella was the first album
by the Vancouver avant-garde jazz quartet Talking Pictures.
Half of the fourteen tracks are short group improvisations.
They serve as bridges between the tighter compositions, all
credited to leader Ron Samworth, except for "In Motian" penned
by drummer Dylan van der Schyff and renditions of Ornette
Coleman's "Lorraine" and Robin Holcomb's "Continuity." Talking
Pictures was an unusual quartet playing unusual music with
unusual instrumentation: electric guitar with effects
(Samworth), trumpet (Bill Clark), cello (Peggy Lee), and drums
(Schyff). In the group's early years, the approach was to play
double-sided sets like this, with free improvs creating space
and texture among the compositions (the same organization can
be found on their second CD The Mirror with a Memory).
Samworth's writing relies on hooky lines, a warped sense of
lyricism, a strong Coleman influence (especially in the use of
harmolodics), and a use of grooves inherited from rock music.
That last element is illustrated by "The Out Doors/Way In,"
which features a long crescendo by the drums and cello, with
the guitar punctuating chords and the trumpet soloing all the
way through. "In Motian" also belongs in part to the rock
realm, evoking early Palinckx. On the other hand, "Ciao
Bella," with its fake tango motif, recalls the late-'80s music
of Rene Lussier (an inspiration for Samworth's style?) and
Jean Derome. This album was a good indication of the band's
potential, more fully reached on its second CD, The Mirror
with Memory.
~ Francois Couture, All Music Guide
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01-I Feel Brown [01:06]
02-Ciao Bello [11:18]
03-It Makes You Empty . . . [01:33]
04-Rat Race [07:58]
05-Rules Of The Game [01:57]
06-Lorraine [06:28]
07-Swing Kids [01:41]
08-Boing Boing [04:00]
09-The Outdoors,way In [11:23]
10-Stink! [01:11]
11-Continuity [04:47]
12-Paper Ghost [01:21]
13-In Motian [02:39]
14-Keep Breathing [03:35]
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60:57 min