adEIdJ – Associazione delle Etichette Indipendenti di Jazz

Press Release

Despite the universal fame of some of his compositions, planet Ellington is far from being fully explored, and perhaps never will be. New expeditions like this one by Silvia Bolognesi and her companions are therefore welcome, denonstrating how much there is still to discover. Mixing a deep love for Duke's music with a healthy dose of audacity, Silvia takes her group right up to the formative years od the band - those with a somewhat more radical sound - of the meteor Bubber Miley and the asteroid Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton. The Mooche opens, closes and is in the centre of the programme, in three radically different versions and in their own way all faithful to the potential of the original; East St. Louis Toodle-Oo delivers feelings of emotional intensity. Passing through the disturbing Ko-Ko, rendered in all its dramatic urgency so tragically current, we arrive at the Shakespearean suite Such Sweet Thunder from 1957. In the fervent ensemble a mixture of reeds-brass-violin - entrusted respectively to Nick Mazzarella (alto), Tony Cattano (trombone), Emanuele Marsico (trumpet, vocals) and Emanuele Parrini (violin) - pays homage non only to Johnny Hodeges but also to the unstoppable Ray Nance. Reharmonizations and rhythmic reinventions are given, alongside the leader's double bass, to the piano of Guglielmo Santimone, who is particularly effective at expressing Ellington's musical language. The only compositions not by Ellington is Jimmy McHugh's Diga Diga Doo with lyrics by poet Dotothy Fields, first released by Duke himself in 1928, and Chicago Stomp Down, another tune from the Ellington repertoire of the Cotton Club years. In the footsteps of Steve Lacy and Roswell Rudd, Misha Mengelberg and Albert Mangelsdorff, Silvia and her group renew the wonder of these pieces, augmenting  their meaning thanks to the addition of original improvisations - in which gradually other memories of Ellingtonian pieces resurface - and with audio fragments of sounds and voices (including that of Ellington himself), loaded with his aurea and contrasted with the improvisational freedom of the band.

An excerpt fron the liner notes by Francesco Martinelli

Track List

01) The Mooche I (Ellington, Mills)
02) Black and Tan Fantasy (Ellington, Miley)
03) Impro n. 1 - The Plunger (Cattano)
04) Half the Fun (Ellington, Strayhorn)
05) Such sweet Thunder (Ellington, Strayhorn)
06) Ko-Ko (Ellington)
07) Impro n. 2 - Freedon of Expression (Parrini)
08) East St.Louis Toodle-Oo (Ellington, Miley)
09) The Mooche II (Ellington, Mills)
10) Impro n. 3 - Listen to Music (Bolognesi)
11) Creole Love Call (Ellington, Miley, Jackson)
12) Chicago Stomp Down (Johnson, Creamer)
13) Diga Diga Doo (McHugh, Fields)
14) The Mooche III (Ellington, Mills)

Personnel

Emanuele Parrini (violin)
Emanuele Marsico (trumpet, vocals)
Tony Cattano (trombone)
Guglielmo Santimone (piano)
Silvia Bolognesi (double bass)
Sergio Bolognesi (drums)

special guest:
Nick Mazzarella (alto sax)

Recording Data

Recorded, mixed and mastered at Shape Shoppe Paradiso Studio, Monteriggioni (Siena), Italy, on 26th and 27th March 2024, by Griffin Rodriguez.