DARIO SAVINO DORONZO & PIETRO GALLO – Reimagining Opera
DiG DIGRESSIONE (JAZZ): DCTT96
Dario Savino Doronzo (flugelhorn) Pietro Gallo (piano) with Michel Godard (serpent) Recorded Italy 2019.
As Signor Doronzo rightly asserts in his elegant sleeve note the conversation between jazz and classical music has a long and distinguished history dating back to its formative years. It has been conducted in various ways from the simple, and sometimes puerile, jazzing the classics for novelty effect to the application of classical modes to original jazz scores, as in Third Stream music, and the artful re-harmonisation, extension and extemporisation of classical themes. The music on this disc falls into the latter category being a collection of eight pieces that paraphrase operatic arias, interludes and includes original compositions inspired by the same. It is performed by the duo of Doronzo and Gallo, on flugelhorn and piano respectively with the addition, on three tracks, of Goddard, a French avant-garde and jazz musician who plays the serpent, a curiously contorted woodwind instrument with a brass mouthpiece that produces an unusual, soft, flatulent sound.
The set opens with a piece inspired by Verdi, decked out with impressionistic harmonies, translating 19th century Italian bel canto into 20th century American balladry with some pleasant improvisational development from both instrumentalists and continues in a similar vein through pieces by various well known (Monteverdi and Puccini) and lesser known (Parisottti and Paisiello) practioners of the euphonious art , concluding with a flugel/serpent duo performance of an original by Godard which harks back to the baroque era of Monteverdi, inspiring some of Doronzo’s most spirited playing. Inevitably there is a rendition of Puccini’s `Nessun Dorma`, which is Gallo’s solo spot. Taking a phrase from the famous melody he weaves it into a Chopin like fantasia which forgoes the stark emotionalism of the original but is nonetheless very pleasing to the ear.
And therein lies the main problem: everything is just too pleasant, quiescent and becalmed. The music cleaves closer to its classical ambience than it does to its jazz ambitions and I’m afraid that I found my attention wandering as the album progressed. But for the slightly quirky, irreverent sound of Goddard’s serpent the whole recital comes over as a series of academic `etudes`; worthy, beautifully executed but, for me, a bit boring. Other ears may detect qualities that have evaded me.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
DiG DIGRESSIONE (JAZZ): DCTT96
Dario Savino Doronzo (flugelhorn) Pietro Gallo (piano) with Michel Godard (serpent) Recorded Italy 2019.
As Signor Doronzo rightly asserts in his elegant sleeve note the conversation between jazz and classical music has a long and distinguished history dating back to its formative years. It has been conducted in various ways from the simple, and sometimes puerile, jazzing the classics for novelty effect to the application of classical modes to original jazz scores, as in Third Stream music, and the artful re-harmonisation, extension and extemporisation of classical themes. The music on this disc falls into the latter category being a collection of eight pieces that paraphrase operatic arias, interludes and includes original compositions inspired by the same. It is performed by the duo of Doronzo and Gallo, on flugelhorn and piano respectively with the addition, on three tracks, of Goddard, a French avant-garde and jazz musician who plays the serpent, a curiously contorted woodwind instrument with a brass mouthpiece that produces an unusual, soft, flatulent sound.
The set opens with a piece inspired by Verdi, decked out with impressionistic harmonies, translating 19th century Italian bel canto into 20th century American balladry with some pleasant improvisational development from both instrumentalists and continues in a similar vein through pieces by various well known (Monteverdi and Puccini) and lesser known (Parisottti and Paisiello) practioners of the euphonious art , concluding with a flugel/serpent duo performance of an original by Godard which harks back to the baroque era of Monteverdi, inspiring some of Doronzo’s most spirited playing. Inevitably there is a rendition of Puccini’s `Nessun Dorma`, which is Gallo’s solo spot. Taking a phrase from the famous melody he weaves it into a Chopin like fantasia which forgoes the stark emotionalism of the original but is nonetheless very pleasing to the ear.
And therein lies the main problem: everything is just too pleasant, quiescent and becalmed. The music cleaves closer to its classical ambience than it does to its jazz ambitions and I’m afraid that I found my attention wandering as the album progressed. But for the slightly quirky, irreverent sound of Goddard’s serpent the whole recital comes over as a series of academic `etudes`; worthy, beautifully executed but, for me, a bit boring. Other ears may detect qualities that have evaded me.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
