adEIdJ – Associazione delle Etichette Indipendenti di Jazz

Press Release

PAROLE INUTILI - Lillo Quaratino

Lillo Quaratino: Double Bass, Arrangements
Roberto Taufic: Acoustic Guitar, Arrangements

Eduardo Taufic: Piano                                                                                                                                                                                                
Giancarlo Maurino: Tenor and Soprano Saxophones
Gabriele Mirabassi: Clarinet
Nicola Stilo: Flute on 3, 5 and 6

Roberto “Red” Rossi: Drums, Percussions
Marta Raviglia: Voice on 9

Il titolo dell’album (“Parole inutili”) sembrerebbe impedire
qualsiasi tentativo di raccontarlo. Ciò è in parte vero ma -
usando un codice diverso da quello amplissimo della musica
- è possibile, forse utile, usare le parole per tratteggiare
l’ultimo lavoro (nel 2006 ha pubblicato “Fado meridiano”) di
un artista schivo e profondo come il contrabbassista Lillo
Quaratino.
Intanto c’è un’eleganza diffusa che circola in tutti i nove
brani originali (arrangiati dall’autore e da Roberto Taufic),
un’eleganza che non è mai estetismo. E’ costruita, intessuta
– con sapienza artigianale ed amore per il dettaglio – dalla
valorizzazione delle voci strumentali, in particolare del
clarinetto di Gabriele Mirabassi e dei sassofoni (soprano e
tenore) di Giancarlo Maurino, del flauto di Nicola Stilo (in
“Doodle”, “Saltapicchio”, “Turn Over”), senza dimenticare la
presenza fondamentale del piano di Eduardo Taufic come
della batteria di Roberto “Red” Rossi e degli interventi alla
chitarra di Roberto Taufic. L’eleganza passa per la
valorizzazione degli impasti timbrici, del gioco tra ance e
flauto (“Doodle”), del continuo, luminescente scambio delle
parti. In brani che hanno sempre un senso - quasi un
profumo - collettivo i temi, le melodie e le contromelodie si
sviluppano con voci plurali: all’unisono, sovrapposte, in
l ibera pol i fonia, al l ’ inseguimento una del l ’al t ra
(“Saltapiccho”), in una dinamica responsoriale… Clarinetto,
sassofoni e flauto sono utilizzati in modo inconsueto ed
originale rispetto al jazz contemporaneo. Altri ingredienti di
“Parole inut i l i ” la presenza dominante di r i tmi
latinoamericani in alternanza ad una scansione “straight
jazz”, con un’inversione dei rispettivi pesi; l’utilizzazione di
melodie a volte complesse ma sempre cantabili, che
alternano ombrosità (“Rosa funebre”, “La sognatrice di
Ostenda”) a solarità (“Doodle”); le improvvisazioni
controllate, bilanciate da interventi di altri musicisti (con una
tecnica tipica di Charles Mingus), comunque funzionali al
brano e spesso a più voci intrecciate. Insomma, qui non ci
sono funambolismi neo-bop, patinature afrolatine o solismi
egocentrici. Lo stesso Quaratino, propulsore di ogni pezzo, si
sente in assolo in un unico brano (“Saltapicchio”).
Ne emerge una poetica del chiaroscuro, del “sottovoce”,
quella di un artista controcorrente che – esperienza dopo
esperienza, incontro dopo incontro – ha raggiunto una sua
maturità ed un suo equilibrio, un equilibrio comunque
dinamico tra linguaggio jazz e musiche che guardano al
Latinoamerica. In quanto a generazione, a capacità
espressivo-emotiva Lillo Quaratino è un “musicista di lungo
corso” come Nicola Stilo e Giancarlo Maurino. Si potrebbe
paragonare al Corto Maltese di Hugo Pratt: un passato
intenso mai ostentato (la Folk Magic Band, le collaborazioni
con Massimo Urbani, Steve Grossman, Chet Baker); un
carico di vissuto ed un bagaglio di umanità (la malattia che
lo ha tenuto lontano dalle scene per diversi anni) portati con
apparente distacco e profonda consapevolezza.
Nella ricca omogeneità dell’album c’è un brano che si fa
significativa eccezione, l’unico con la voce (cantante e
narrante) di Marta Raviglia: qui - nel racconto dell’uomo dai
“Pugni in tasca” immobile sulla panchina - si intrecciano
episodi free e recitazione, momenti sperimentali e scansioni
mutanti, nell’(in)volontaria dimostrazione dell’apertura di
Lillo Quaratino e compagni ad altri linguaggi, della
disponibilità a cambiare ancora rotta, a non ritrarsi dal fluire
continuo della musica, delle idee, dei sentimenti.

Luigi Onori

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Cover notes - English

The title of this album “Parole inutili” (Useless Words) would seem to be a warning against any
attempt to talk about it. This is partly true, but – using a code that is different from the very
extensive one of music – it is possible, and perhaps useful, to resort to words in order to
outline the latest creation (following "Fado meridiano" released in 2006 by AlfaMusic) of the
bassist-composer Lillo Quaratino, an artist with profound ideas who generally avoids the
limelight.
There is a general sense of elegance in all nine of the original songs on the CD (which were
arranged by Quaratino himself along with Roberto Taufic) and this elegance is never a form of
aestheticism. It is constructed and interwoven – with skilled craftsmanship and attention to
detail – from all the various instrumental voices, especially the clarinet of Gabriele Mirabassi,
the soprano and tenor saxophones of Giancarlo Maurino, and the flute of Nicola Stilo (in
"Doodle", "Saltapicchio" and "Turn Over"), not to mention the fundamental presence of
Roberto "Red" Rossi on the drums, Eduardo Taufic on the piano and Roberto Taufic on the
guitar. The elegance of the CD also consists in the special attention paid to the timbric
combinations, the interplay between the reeds and the flute (on "Doodle"), and the continuous
luminescent exchanging of musical roles.
In these pieces that always have a collective sense that is like an all-pervading perfume the
themes, melodies and countermelodies develop with a plurality of voices: in unison,
overlapping or in free polyphony, each one in pursuit of the other (especially in "Saltapiccho")
according to responsorial dynamics. The clarinet, saxophone and flute are used in an unusual
and original way compared to the normal schemes of contemporary jazz. Other ingredients of
“Parole inutili” are the dominance of Latin-American rhythms, adopted instead of a "straight
jazz" structure, together with the use of melodies that are sometimes complex but always
tuneful, so that darker moods (“Rosa funebre”, “La sognatrice di Ostenda”) alternate with
brighter and more upbeat numbers (“Doodle”). The improvisations are controlled and balanced
by the interventions of other musicians (using a technique that was typical of Charles Mingus)
that make an essential contribution to the piece as a whole and are often intertwined with
many other voices. And so here there are no superficial Afro-Latin patinas, and no neo-bop
tightrope-walking or egocentric solos. In fact Quaratino himself, the driving force behind each
piece, plays a solo on only one track ("Saltapicchio").
There emerges a poetic sense of chiaroscuro, and of the understated aesthetic of an artist who
goes against the prevailing fashions and who – experience after experience, meeting after
meeting – has reached his full maturity and has thus produced a dynamic balance between
jazz and music with a Latin-American feel. As regards his expressive-emotional capacities Lillo
Quaratino is a "long-term musician" like his co-musicians Nicola Stilo and Giancarlo Maurino.
One could compare him to a character from Hugo Pratt’s graphic novel, the sailor Corto
Maltese, due to his intensely lived past life that is not ostentatiously shown (including his time
in the Folk Magic Band, and his collaborations with Massimo Urbani, Steve Grossman and Chet
Baker). He has a whole boatload of experiences and a wealth of humanity (including an illness
that kept him away from the scene for several years) that he bears with an apparent sense of
detachment and a profound sense of awareness.
Within the rich uniformity of the album there is a song that is a significant exception, since it is
the only one that features the voice (singing and narrating) of Marta Raviglia. Here – in the
story of man with his "Fists in the Pockets" (“Pugni in tasca”) sitting immobile on a bench –
freely improvised and experimental episodes are interwoven with moments of acting and
changing rhythms, in the demonstration of the openness of Lillo Quaratino and his companions
towards other languages, and their willingness to change course once again, so as not to
retreat from the continuous flowing stream of music, ideas and feelings.

Luigi Onori

Track List

PAROLE INUTILI - LILLO QUARATINO

1 Inutili parole 6.17
2 Campana 5.55
3 Doodle 4.52
4 Rosa funebre 6.34
5 Saltapicchio 5.05
6 Turn over 7.01
7 La sognatrice di Ostenda 5.20
8 Mambo senza te 5.12
9 Pugni in tasca (bonus track) 8.30

Total time 55.08

All compositions by Angelo Quaratino except 9 Music by Angelo Quaratino and Lyrics by Marta Raviglia
Publishing: AlfaMusic Studio (Siae)
C&P 2013 AlfaMusic - All Rights reserved

Personnel

Lillo Quaratino: Double Bass, Arrangements
Roberto Taufic: Acoustic Guitar, Arrangements

Eduardo Taufic: Piano                                                                                                                                                                                                
Giancarlo Maurino: Tenor and Soprano Saxophones
Gabriele Mirabassi: Clarinet
Nicola Stilo: Flute on 3, 5 and 6

Roberto “Red” Rossi: Drums, Percussions
Marta Raviglia: Voice on 9

Artistic production: Lillo Quartatino & Roberto Taufic
Production Supervision: Fabrizio Salvatore (AlfaMusic)

Photos Fededico Aniballi and Mauro Sindici
Layout Ettore Festa, Haunag Design
Translations Tris Bruce & Satoshi Toyoda

Recording Data

Recordings, Mixing and Mastering: Hi-Jazz  www.hi-jazz.com
Forward Studios – Grottaferrata, Rome (Italy)
Sound Engineer: Alessandro Guardia
Assistant sound engineers: Fabrizio Frezza & Andrea Secchi
Mastering engineers:Carmine Simeone & Marcello Spiridioni

All audio processing were performed on AMS Neve 88R Full Analog Console

Mastering was done from 1/2 Inch. Master Tapes