Record Reviews

NINA PEDERSEN ~ EYES WIDE OPEN LOSEN 184 (Barcode: 7090025831843) ~ NORWAY ~ Jazz Recorded: 2016 Released: 2017 This is the third album by Norwegian (resident in Rome) Jazz singer / songwriter Nina PedersenFind albums by this artist, accompanied by the excellent piano trio consisting of pianist Pierpaolo PrincipatoFind albums by this artist, bassist Marco LoddoFind albums by this artist and drummer Giampaolo ScatozzaFind albums by this artist. Trumpeter Aldo BassiFind albums by this artist plays on a couple of tunes and saxophonist Paolo InnarellaFind albums by this artist plays on another two tracks. The album presents eight songs, seven of which are originals (music and lyrics in English) by Pedersen and one is by the wonderful duo of John SurmanFind albums by this artist and Karin KrogFind albums by this artist. The original songs are all beautifully woven by their author, with superb melodic themes and intelligent lyrics. They are all standard quality and the album flows smoothly from start to finish like a collection of well known tunes, which of course is a rare quality. The piano trio and guests play fabulously, supporting the vocalist amicably and adding occasional solos, all perfectly suiting the music. Bassi is especially imaginative during his parts on the two songs and I wish he would have played for the entire duration of the album. Pedersen has a wonderfully mature, dark and enticing voice, in some respects similar to that of Karin Krog herself, who wrote a short comment for the album´s liner notes, with which I agree completely. This is one of those albums, which do not try to be spectacular even for a moment, but deliver exactly what is appropriate within its scope: wonderful songs and perfect execution, full of heartfelt emotion, honesty and great taste, creating a first class aesthetic experience. Very well done!

Updated: 06/11/2017Posted: 06/11/2017

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RICCARDO ZANNELLI ~ TIRATECI FUORI NOT ON LABEL 001 (Barcode: 8056099001444) ~ ITALY ~ Jazz-Pop Fusion Recorded: 2016 Released: 2017 This is the debut album by Italian singer / songwriter Riccardo ZannelliFind albums by this artist, which presents eight original songs composed by Zannelli (with some help by his friends on two of the songs) and featuring his lyrics. He is accompanied by a bunch of talented musicians: trumpeter Aldo BassiFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Massimiliano FilosiFind albums by this artist, guitarist Francesco BrunoFind albums by this artist (who also plays guitar and bass synthesizers) and a few other guests. Bruno was also the recording engineer, artistic director and arranger of the entire project. The music is a wonderful amalgam of Pop, Jazz, Groove, World Music and a plethora of other elements, but first and foremost the typical Italian sense of melody, which luckily was not lost over the years. Each of these songs is a true gem, which in an ideal world would instantly capture the top of the playlists all over the world. The album could be classified as Smooth Jazz, but in the best meaning of the idiom, as it as good as the best work by StingFind albums by this artist and other Pop artists with strong emphasis on Jazz in their work. Zannelli is a superb vocalist, presenting a wide and rich range of vocal possibilities, from lyrical balladry to Groove / Soul and even Rap, which by the way shows that Rap can be quite musical in contrast to what the world was exposed to in the last decades. The short but elegant and expressive solos by Bassi and Filosi are like sweet raisins in a cake and Bruno´s guitar and synthesizer work is right on the money. His general musical direction placed this album exactly at its most comfortable spot, which is tasteful and catchy, but highly intelligent and sophisticated. This album proves yet again that entertaining music can be superbly crafted and perfect in every sense. This is one of those albums that go straight into your head and can´t be shaken down. I haven´t stopped listening to this album since I returned from Rome a couple of weeks ago and still can´t get enough of it. Hope to hear this music live one day! Thank you Riccardo and Francesco for this beautiful gift of music!

Updated: 31/10/2017Posted: 31/10/2017

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