CARLO ACTIS DATO/ENZO ROCCO DUO - Noise from the Neighbours
Setola di maiale – SM3160
Carlo Actis Dato, baritone & tenor saxes/bass clarinet; Enzo Rocco, electric guitar
Recorded live at Associazinoe Alice Nella Citta Castelleone, February 6th 2016
That this set is the result of one day of live recording is impressive; that the set is also so well balanced and cleanly structured is even more so. The pieces combine the urgency of improvised playing with a clear structure that implies either composition or, at least, some agreement as to how the pieces would develop. My suspicion is that the recording is more likely to be one of spontaneity than organisation and the sense of a structure across and within the pieces in simply a reflection of the friendship that these two superb musicians have built up. The self-effacing title of this collection calls to mind the idea of playing music as making ‘noise’ and Dato and Rocco are keen exponents of wringing all possible sounds from their experiments. With 20 years of playing together, they give the impression of a relaxed camaraderie on the one hand and a fearful rivalry on the other: like two old friends who know all about each other and who can always turn a conversation to have the last word.
The collection of pieces here are like a travelogue of a musical journey, mixing folk influences from across the world (some middle eastern, some middle European), with avant garde jazz, with circus music. The combinations of musical styles feel so correct in the hands of these maestros that one rarely pauses to consider how such unrelated types of music could be brought together. Theirs is a music that is both unique to them and also a music of the world. The closing piece, ‘RumbaBamba’ hints at the humour with which they approach their music making; there is the suggestion that there could be a burst of La Bamba at any moment, and a rhythm that might once have been a rumba but their swirling development of the piece brings a faster and faster pace that forces the guitar strumming to ever increasing bursts of flamenco and then a coda where neither player wants to end and so it just fades out. With each piece, the mixture of musical styles provides gently probing, humorous and well-balanced explorations of themes that can be confusing, beguiling and whimsical.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
Setola di maiale – SM3160
Carlo Actis Dato, baritone & tenor saxes/bass clarinet; Enzo Rocco, electric guitar
Recorded live at Associazinoe Alice Nella Citta Castelleone, February 6th 2016
That this set is the result of one day of live recording is impressive; that the set is also so well balanced and cleanly structured is even more so. The pieces combine the urgency of improvised playing with a clear structure that implies either composition or, at least, some agreement as to how the pieces would develop. My suspicion is that the recording is more likely to be one of spontaneity than organisation and the sense of a structure across and within the pieces in simply a reflection of the friendship that these two superb musicians have built up. The self-effacing title of this collection calls to mind the idea of playing music as making ‘noise’ and Dato and Rocco are keen exponents of wringing all possible sounds from their experiments. With 20 years of playing together, they give the impression of a relaxed camaraderie on the one hand and a fearful rivalry on the other: like two old friends who know all about each other and who can always turn a conversation to have the last word.
The collection of pieces here are like a travelogue of a musical journey, mixing folk influences from across the world (some middle eastern, some middle European), with avant garde jazz, with circus music. The combinations of musical styles feel so correct in the hands of these maestros that one rarely pauses to consider how such unrelated types of music could be brought together. Theirs is a music that is both unique to them and also a music of the world. The closing piece, ‘RumbaBamba’ hints at the humour with which they approach their music making; there is the suggestion that there could be a burst of La Bamba at any moment, and a rhythm that might once have been a rumba but their swirling development of the piece brings a faster and faster pace that forces the guitar strumming to ever increasing bursts of flamenco and then a coda where neither player wants to end and so it just fades out. With each piece, the mixture of musical styles provides gently probing, humorous and well-balanced explorations of themes that can be confusing, beguiling and whimsical.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
