adEIdJ – Associazione delle Etichette Indipendenti di Jazz

Press Release

Not every musician releases their first album at twenty–something and fresh out of conservatory. Some people make their debut album after years of paying their dues and sacrifices, all of which earned them the respect of their colleagues. That’s the case with Venetian saxophonist Giovanni Masiero, who finally recorded his first album as leader at 42. He was classically–trained and went on to study jazz at the conservatories of Venice and Castelfranco, then he did an excellent job as a sideman, especially in large ensembles (Orchestra Jazz del Veneto, but also with Maurizio Giammarco and Tommaso Cappellato), where he also played baritone sax by necessity. Besides, Masiero cultivates a genuine, long-standing passion for boxing as the album title, dedicated to the 80s boxer Marvin Hagler, clearly suggests. «Round 6»’s most intense and meaningful moment is its title–track thanks to Marco Carlesso’s passionate drums, but also to the obstinate riffs of Dario Zennaro’s electric guitar and Nicola Dal Bo’s Hammond organ. The quartet has five years of experience and openly takes inspiration from the sounds of Organ Trio, made popular by Jimmy Smith, but can detach from it by playing sincere, visceral post–bop full of groove and blues (Rusty Saxophone). Both when bop melodies are reinterpreted (Frank’s Bike) and the hypnotic, dreamy atmosphere of Soundgarden is revisited (Black Hole Sun), Masiero’s album is appreciated for its consistency and homogeneity, to which Francesco Minutello’s solid trumpet (there’s much 60s hard–bop in Blue Note on My Mind, and in this case too, the title is more than programmatic) and Francesca Bertazzo Hart’s warm voice in the gentle bossa nova Maybe the Last Time make a partial, yet precious contribution. Finally, we must stress the important role played in composition by Nicola Dal Bo in My Delight and Dario Zennaro in U.K., a track suspended between John Scofield and Jimi Hendrix. «Round 6» is the proof, as though we needed any more, of the never–dormant vitality of Venetian jazz scene.

Track List

1) Major Funk
2) Frank’s Bike
3) Round 6
4) Rusty Saxophone
5) Black Hole Sun (Chris Cornell)
6) Maybe the Last Time (G.Masiero, F.Bertazzo Hart)
7) Blue Note on My Mind
8) My Delight (N.Dal Bo)
9) U.K. (D.Zennaro).

All tunes, unless otherwise noted, composed by Giovanni Masiero

Personnel

Giovanni Masiero (tenor sax)
Dario Zennaro (guitars)
Nicola Dal Bo (hammond organ)
Marco Carlesso (drums)
special guests:
Francesca Bertazzo Hart (vocals) on tune n. 6
Francesco Minutello (trumpet) on tune n. 7

Recording Data

Recorded on 13^th and 14^th February, mixed and mastered in March 2021 at Imput Level Recording Studio, S.Biagio di Callalta (Treviso), Italy, by Claudio Zambenedetti