REBIRTH

Artist: Giuseppe Deliso
Album Title: Rebirth

CD cover

Giuseppe Deliso is an Italian guitar player who offers up a multidimensional approach to jazz on his first album of original material. As the chief architect and songwriter of Rebirth, Deliso has created a work that balances deft musicianship with subtle arrangements that, like the painting on the front cover, produces a colorful pastoral effect for his listener’s senses. Equally important are Deliso’s choice of musicians that support and help him achieve his creative vision. Pianist Vito Liturri, bassist Marco Boccia, saxophonist Vincenzo Antonicelli, drummer Lello Patruno, and cellist Davide Viterbo round out the ensemble. Each of these players contributes to the whole by quietly asserting themselves when called for, and more importantly, are well versed in the art of restraint and space in the jazz idiom. Not surprisingly, Rebirth has a strong European flare that is at times reminiscent of Manfred Eicher’s ethereal yet paradoxically heavy-handed production of his ECM artists. The Italian group comes close to the improvisational style of the ECM aesthetic, but is not quite experimental enough, instead preferring solid structures of melodic framework and cultivated improvisation.

The album opens with the aptly titled “Saturday Night Groove”. Patruno and Boccia start it with a simple groove that lays the foundation for Liturri and his funky Rhodes piano work. A slight hint of distortion on the Rhodes comes through as he accents his most edgy of chords against Boccia’s fretless bass work. The dichotomy of strong chording and bass lines set the stage for the guitar to make its entrance a minute into the piece. Refreshingly, Deliso has chosen to use a crisp guitar tone that accentuates the instrument’s idiosyncrasies along with the sound of his chording fingers and pick. This in stark contrast to the ubiquitous muted tones found in jazz guitar gives his craft a fresh angle in which to hear contemporary jazz compositions. Along the way Antonicelli matches Deliso’s melodies and both take a solo, however the most exhilarating part is when the rhythm section gets behind Liturri as he aggressively solo’s against their driving patterns.

Next is the beautiful track “Emotions”, where the listener is treated to some of the finest instrumental performances on Rebirth. Juxtaposed with “Saturday Night Groove” and its exciting pace, “Emotions” downshifts toward a moody and atmospheric work that conjures up images of a late night, downtown lounge. Also in shift are Deliso’s and Liturri’s switch to their acoustic instruments, which is an obvious choice to compliment the form of the song. Deliso takes a solo that recalls Pat Metheny-like runs and cadences, while Liturri’s opening solo is a gorgeous, dynamical performance that reflects the light and dark colors of his Bill Evans inspired playing. The tonal range and expert musicianship of “Emotions” make it unquestionably one of the strongest tracks on the album.

The title track boasts the most enduring and striking melody on Rebirth. Patruno’s drumming propels the song as Liturri and Deliso play the circular melody throughout the first half. The most salient feature of the piece is Antonicelli and his version of the theme through his soprano saxophone. His command of the instrument is apparent as he sometimes ventures beyond the boundaries of the theme with his own flourishes, yet always manages to come back to support the song.

Two songs on Rebirth stand out in a figurative and literal sense for the same reason. “Rebirth bass intro” and “Rebirth Ending” feature solo performances by Boccia and Viterbo respectively. Both emphasize the subtleties of their instrument with the blending of pitch that fretless instruments afford, but it is Viterbo’s interpretation on Deliso’s Rebirth theme that stands out. This cello piece closes the album and reminds the listener of the vast capabilities of the individual musicians and the timbre of their instruments by articulating the very theme that was most dominant in the album as a whole.

Overall, Rebirth is a testament to Giuseppe Deliso’s talents as a songwriter and his band. The musicianship exhibited by all the players on Rebirth is extraordinary, and speaks to the jazz audience in way that emphasizes their personalities through the music they play.

Review by Stafford Davis
Rating: ****4Stars (out of 5)

stafford davis

Stafford Davis is an award-winning writer and photographer. His essays short stories, and photographs have been published in everything from local city-wide journals to international books and online publications. Hailing from Denver, Stafford grew up listening to a wide variety of music and eventually started making his own when he was 11.

Lello Patruno - drums

Inizia a mostrare interesse verso la batteria e la musica in genere all’età di 6 anni. A 8 anni riceve in regalo la sua prima batteria professionale che lo porta ad esibirsi in pubblico a soli 10 anni! Successivamente decide di intraprendere professionalmente la carriera musicale dedicandosi allo studio della musica frequentando la classe di “Strumenti a Percussione” presso il Conservatorio di Musica “N.Piccinni” di Monopoli sotto la guida del validissimo M° Vincenzo Mazzone e diplomandosi presso il Conservatorio di Musica “U. Giordano” e studiando batteria con Maurizio dei Lazzaretti. Non mancano le attive partecipazioni a diversi stages e masterclass di batteria, musica jazz e percussioni con: Walter Calloni e Stefano Cerri, Roberto Gatto, Christian Meyer, “Bombul”, Pino e Pietro Iodice, Peter Erskine.

Nel corso della sua formazione partecipa a numerosi concorsi nazionali ed europei classificandosi sempre tra i primi posti.

Si esibisce in vari festival jazz e di musica etnica, contemporanea e leggera incidendo alcuni CD con diverse formazioni.

Suona e collabora con artisti di fama internazionale tra i quali uno dei più grandi chitarristi classici del panorama musicale mondiale Marcos Vinicius, il compositore Stelvio Cipriani, il trombonista Michele Lomuto, il chitarrista Pablo De La Cruz, ed altri.

Numerose le apparizioni televisive e radiofoniche per televisioni e radio locali tra cui Telenorba, AntennaSud, RAI, Radionorba, RadioPuglia, Controradio, Radio Popolare Network, Radio Amicizia,…
Attualmente svolge con passione un’intensa attività concertistica nei club e nei teatri in giro per l’Europa e didattica presso la scuola di musica: “Insula Musicae” di Conversano (Ba) – classi di Batteria e Percussioni.

INCISIONI DI MAGGIOR RILIEVO
CD – “Ping Pong” Vincenzo Mazzone (Leo Lab), con “Sud Percussion Group” e “Sud Ensemble” di Pino Minafra, con Daniele Patumi, Carlo Actis Dato, Giorgio Occhipinti, Sandro Satta, Lauro Rossi.
CD – “Siberia” Umberto Giordano (Dynamic), con “Orchestra Internazionale d’Italia” Dir. Manlio Benzi. Festival della Valle d’Itria Agosto 2003 – REGISTRATO DAL VIVO -
CD – “omonimo” , con “àistesis” prodotto da M.Pepe e F.Cacciapaglia
CD – “Introspezione d’un viaggio” di “Camillo Pace” (Edizioni dei corrieri cosmici)

web site: www.lellopatruno.it

Vincenzo Antonicelli - saxophonist

Born in 1967 (too many years ago), he played piano at early age and began playing saxophone very late, after an Electronic Engineering degree (110/110 with mention …)

During Ph.D and post-doctorate fellowship, he matured the (insane ?) decision to leave the scientific world, embracing an artistic career. (Academic world is not much artistic … people are square and heavy like stones … sorry !)

After classical studies, he decided to dedicate all his efforts to Jazz: Jazz is not a kind of music, it’s a way to reshape and play music, whatever the source could be … and Jazz becomes soon a way of life.

He has a powerful tenor sax voice, with reminiscences of Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders, George Adams, Albert Ayler, Gato Barbieri, employing elements taken from the avant-garde (classical and jazz) and from the Jazz tradition (expecially when playing ballads …).

On soprano, he has a Shorter-like sound, retaining “sneaky” phrasing, asymmetric runs, out-of-harmony playing from Coltrane and fellows style. Need to say that he is, mainly, a free, angry, screaming, honking, growling, splitting tones, sax player ?

Studies
Classical studies
P. De Benedetto.
Masterclass
F. Moretti.
Jazz studies
M. Carrabba, F. Mezzina.

Workshops
G. Basso, E. Cisi (2), C. Fasoli, E. Fioravanti, D. Liebman, B. Mover, M. Raja.
Harmony and composition studies
Studies with L. Giannatempo, N. Marziliano.

Prizes
First classification at “Note nella Notte”, Bari, May 2002 (Renegades Jazz Quartet, aka RJQ);
First classification at 5° ‘Concorso Nazionale di Esecuzione e Composizione di Musica Classica, Elettronica, Jazz e Leggera “Onde Musicali”’, Taranto 24-30 May 2004, Jazz section (Annarita Romito Jazz Trio);
Finalist at “Talenti Jazz-Martina 2005″-Martina Franca (TA)-11 Dec 2005 (Antonicelli-Liturri Jazz Duo)

Discography
“Onirika”-Doracor: progressive rock-Mellow Records-MMP 495-2007.
“Lady Roma”-Doracor.
Playing
He has played (with various groups) in local Jazz clubs and in many cultural and benefic happenings, as:
“Trani per Telethon”, Trani – December 2002
“Suoni Contro-Concerti per Amnesty”, Molfetta – July 2003-2004-2005
“Suoni sTrani”, Trani – December 2003 and April 2004
“Suoni visionari”, (“La Vallisa”-Bari, “Chiostro di Conversano”, “Casa dei Popoli”-Molfetta),
“ControFestival” 2005

blowing with famous italian jazzmen, like N. Arigliano, F. Cerri, F. Mezzina, N. Pisani, N. Marziliano.

web site: www.myspace.com/supervinx

Davide Viterbo - composer, cello player, guitarist, sound engineer

Davide Viterbo is a musician who has crossed genres and developed different skills across-the-board. Eminent musical figure, he’s always left a deep mark in the projects he has been involved in.

The innovative sound of his cello is the result of his great sensitivity and tireless research as a composer, cello player, guitarist, and sound engineer.

Davide was a member of the Skizo, a band whose short life represented a milestone in Italian underground music scene: ” the most innovative act tonight, a band with a sound that’s plain and complicated at once, where burning moments follow static ones, really clever. (Red Ronnie, Il Resto del Carlino 7/6/82 Festival Rock Bologna);

In 1983 in collaboration with Tommaso Mazza he gives an audio-visual performance, “Carry carry on”, at the art gallery Bonomo. The exhibition includes 8mm film loops projected on a white canvas screen, a cello on which an electrical musical box was mounted playing back the scores, audio loops on a Revox, magnetic tapes tightly suspended between floor and ceiling.

He takes his cello diploma at the music academy “N. Piccinni” under Vito Paternoster’s tutoring. He is a cellist for the Orchestra “Provincia di Bari” . Soon after he wins an audition for the Petruzzelli orchestra. He collaborates with a number of projects as solo cellist, such as Moni Ovadia’s “Golem”, Walter Pagliaro’s “Lo strumento scordato”, to name but a few. In this position he will also tour many important italian theatres such as: Teatro Filodrammatici in Milan; Piccinni, Bari; Giordano, Foggia; Lauro Rossi, Macerata; Ateneo, Rome; Vascello, Rome; Della Corte, Genoa; Studio, Milan; Morlacchi, Perugia; Verdi, Lucca; Arena del sole, Bologne; Verdi, Martina Franca
He’s temporary teacher in the cello classes at the music academy “N.Piccinni” in Bari until 1999.

In 1991 he performs live with the song writer Angelo Ruggero for Time Zones, a collaboration which leads to the production of the c.d. “Regina dei Gatti”. In this album, released by BMG Ariola, he acts as music director, cellist, arranger, and co-author of the music scores. Among the numerous guest artists in the c.d., the great virtuoso of the saxofone, Roberto Ottaviano. The album receives enthusiastic reviews on the national press by Gino Castaldo, Marinella Venegoni, Fabrizio Versienti.

He’s co-protagonist together with the artist Biagio Caldarelli and the poetess Dora Lapolla of the art video “Biagio, Davide e Dora”, directed by Nico Bizzarro, as shown at the art gallery Bonomo. He’s guest musician in “Round about Max”, jazz saxophonist Massimo Urbani’s album. – In 1996 he brings to the stage “La lontananza nostalgica utopica futura” by L.Nono, an act for solo violin and tapes (violinist Enzo Porta, Il Coretto, Auditorium Vallisa, Bari).

In Jerez, Andalusia, he studies flamenco guitar. He is the leader and producer of the trio “Nura” – a fine example of cleverness and elegance in blending different musical cultures – engaged in an intensive touring period between Italy and France.

In 2001 he starts collaborating as artistic producer with “Sottosuono”, an independent label.

He is guest musician in several albums by Antonio Breschi, one of the first piano composers to cross remote musical cultures, and co-producer of “Zearbidetan”, a c.d. where music meets poetry, by Josè Angel Irigarai (one of the greatest Basque poets) featuring Ronnie Drew, Benito Lertxundi, Gaben Dabiré. – He is the author of the musical performance “Italian avant-guarde in the 60s”, as a part of the film festival “Sentieri nel Cinema” XV ed. (Bari, Teatro Kursaal) – He’s the author of the sound installation “L’ospite d’altri tempi”, included in the art exhibition “De Nittis e Tissot” (Barletta, Palazzo della Marra, 15th July, 2006).

He composes “Distant City”, his most important project, with Time Zones festival as a producers and French composer René Aubry as a guest star. The show is acclaimed by critics and public alike. ( Bari, Palamartino 2006 – Polignano, Primitivo 2007 – Bari, Teatro N. Piccinni 2007)

website: www.myspace.com/davideviterbo