ACTIS DATO QUARTET - Earth is the Place
Leo Records CD LR 722
Carlo Actis Dato, tenor and baritone saxophones, bass clarinet; Beppe di Filippo alto and soprano saxophones; Matteo Ravizza, double bass; Daniele Bertone, drums, percussion.
Funhouse came to mind by the time I had almost reached the end of the second track of this album, but you know that in many ways it’s witty rather than comical, the performance unconventional. The sources and styles owe their roots to a potpourri from around the Mediterranean and nearby: Italy and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa all lending their different insights and perceptions to the weave of the musical fabric. Cadence and measure are moved in a variety of ways, echoing times past, unusual customs and unheard of civilizations.
Despite this wildness and its circus-like antics, the occasional avant-garde solos from bass and saxophone are clearly stated and encourage closer listening, when it becomes obvious that this is also of serious musical intent and at times exquisitely performed by some very capable instrumentalists. Dato has experience with Lester Bowie, David Murray and Cecil Taylor for example and his colleagues have no difficulty in responding to his ability by playing with precision and lucidity of enunciation. The playing was also speedily reactive and generally with a nicely controlled depth of modulation.
These eleven tracks have a depth of musical history to explore and while they encapsulate some ‘fun’, yelps and hollers included, I found the album both titillating and absorbing and it achieved this with considerable composure and style.
Reviewed by Ken Cheetham
Leo Records CD LR 722
Carlo Actis Dato, tenor and baritone saxophones, bass clarinet; Beppe di Filippo alto and soprano saxophones; Matteo Ravizza, double bass; Daniele Bertone, drums, percussion.
Funhouse came to mind by the time I had almost reached the end of the second track of this album, but you know that in many ways it’s witty rather than comical, the performance unconventional. The sources and styles owe their roots to a potpourri from around the Mediterranean and nearby: Italy and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa all lending their different insights and perceptions to the weave of the musical fabric. Cadence and measure are moved in a variety of ways, echoing times past, unusual customs and unheard of civilizations.
Despite this wildness and its circus-like antics, the occasional avant-garde solos from bass and saxophone are clearly stated and encourage closer listening, when it becomes obvious that this is also of serious musical intent and at times exquisitely performed by some very capable instrumentalists. Dato has experience with Lester Bowie, David Murray and Cecil Taylor for example and his colleagues have no difficulty in responding to his ability by playing with precision and lucidity of enunciation. The playing was also speedily reactive and generally with a nicely controlled depth of modulation.
These eleven tracks have a depth of musical history to explore and while they encapsulate some ‘fun’, yelps and hollers included, I found the album both titillating and absorbing and it achieved this with considerable composure and style.
Reviewed by Ken Cheetham
