Record Reviews

IGOR CAIAZZA ~ PEOPLE ALFA MUSIC 267 (Barcode: 8032050022284) ~ ITALY ~ Jazz Recorded: 2022 Released: 2022 This is an album by Italian Jazz drummer / composer Igor CaiazzaFind albums by this artist, recorded in a quartet setting with clarinetist / saxophonist Nico GoriFind albums by this artist, pianist Claudio FilippiniFind albums by this artist and bassist Marco De TillaFind albums by this artist. Vocalist Emilia ZamuberFind albums by this artist guests on two tracks and saxophonist Marco ZurzoloFind albums by this artist and trombonist Alessandro TedescoFind albums by this artist guest on one track. The album presents eleven original compositions, all by the leader. The music is all within the modern mainstream Jazz idiom, based on excellent, highly melodic compositions, which are all soaked in typical Italian melodic tradition, which seems to be omnipresent in the local Jazz. A nice balance between ballads and mid-tempo numbers creates a natural flow in which the music glides from one tune to the next with grace and elegance. The players are all highly skilled and talented, and the piano trio / clarinet combination is not surprisingly very effective. The clarinet parts have a distinctive Folky tinge, and the piano trio is the more Jazz oriented element of the music. The vocalese parts on the other hand add some Classical coloring. As a result, the album presents a nice, quite diverse musical experience, which can be enjoyed by a wide range of listeners. Personally, I find the piano parts by Filippini to be absolutely delightful and I intend to hunt for his recordings as a result of hearing him here. Overall, this is a delightful, highly entertaining mainstream Jazz album, with excellent compositions and skillful performances by the musicians involved, which is definitely worth an open ear, especially for Jazz romantics, who can’t resist the Italian mood, which never disappoints.

Updated: 16/03/2023Posted: 16/03/2023

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YURI GOLOUBEV ~ TITANIC FOR A BIKE CALIGOLA 2145 (Barcode: 8033433291457) ~ ITALY ~ Jazz Recorded: 2011 Released: 2011 This is an album by a trio led by Russian (resident in Italy) Jazz bassist / composer Yuri GoloubevFind albums by this artist, with Italian pianist Claudio FilippiniFind albums by this artist and Israeli (resident in UK) drummer / composer Asaf SirkisFind albums by this artist. British saxophonist Julian ArguellesFind albums by this artist guests on four tracks. The album presents ten tracks, eight of which are original compositions by the leader, one is by Sirkis and one is a standard. The music is based on beautiful melodic themes and performed elegantly by all the participants. Not surprisingly, there are a lot of solo bass moments, which are the highlights of the music. Goloubev is undoubtedly one of the finest bassists in Europe and deserves way more recognition than he receives today, as all his recordings to date clearly prove. I stumbled on his Artistry quite unexpectedly a while ago, but every new recording that features his amazing bass lines is simply astounding. As this album reveals, he is not only a great bass virtuoso, but also a very able composer. I was completely unaware of this album’s existence and I am thankful to Yuri, who made every possible effort to deliver this rare beauty to me in these troubled times. It made me very happy! Overall, although finding a copy of this album might be insanely difficult, I encourage every Jazz lover on this planet to make an effort to search for it, as it is truly a piece of Art in every sense. I ensure you won’t be disappointed. For Jazz piano trio lovers, this album is an absolutely essential must have in your collection!

Updated: 24/05/2026Posted: 24/05/2026

CD 1 Recommend To A Friend