DIANA TORTI - Take Five No: 59
Can you tell us about your new album?
“On a Cloud” (released on the SLAM label) was born during my passionate vocal research focused on the figure of Jeanne Lee, wonderful singer of the avant-garde Jazz. As soon as I listened to her, I was enchanted by her unique voice and by the sensations she conveyed to me through her sounds, lyrics and music. She was a very courageous artist, pioneer of an innovative way of singing in Jazz music starting from the Sixties.
The repertoire of the CD draws on standards, improvisations and original compositions inspired by Lee’s world of sounds. I thought of the duo, voice and classical guitar, as an ideal dimension to rework the poetic, refined and intimate atmosphere of her music. The ensemble is formed by me, on vocal, and the guitarist and composer Sabino de Bari. He is a wonderful, versatile and inspiring musician: I have thought of him as the ideal person for this project with me. Moreover, we have over time developed and matured a consolidated artistic alchemy, as we’ve been playing together for over ten years. In our music both improvisation and composition are experienced as an expressive possibility out of any stylistic connotation. As I wrote in the CD’s cover: “Timbres, words, noises and breaths merge, chase or dance together freely, to evoke suggestions and sound images”.
Jeanne Lee was also a very sensitive and lovely person, strongly committed to social and civil rights throughout all her life. I think that artists cannot be such regardless of this commitment. They have a very important social role. With their sensitivity and the possibility of transforming their experience through their art, they have the responsibility to tell the reality, to resist any form of denial of both freedom and the free expression of everyone and to promote every action aimed at improving both our lives that of the entire community in which we live. For all these reasons the project is a homage to this extraordinary artist.
What other projects are you currently involved in?
I am part of the "Contemporary Duet" together with Sabino de Bari himself. Our musical relationship began thanks to this extraordinary experience. The ensemble was born from the encounter between the classical-contemporary experience and jazz improvisation. The result is a colourful variety of sounds and timbres, as a result of the research on the expressive and technical possibilities of both the voice and the classical guitar as a whole. The repertoire includes original compositions by Sabino de Bari and pieces written by famous contemporary composers, such as Leo Brower and Egberto Gismonti. It represents an intense artistic experience, that wants to find a meeting point between the various musical nuances of the twentieth century.
Before I left my country (Italy) to move to London I was involved in an interesting project with Italian trumpeter and composer Lucia Ianniello. She did extensive research on the pianist Horace Tapscott and his story. She recorded two CDs (both for SLAM) on Tapscott where I was involved. Singing for so long in her ensemble was a significant experience for me and also an opportunity to develop and strengthen research on free improvisation through a collective in which the approach to music was intended as a contribution and not as a competitive way.
What are you currently listening to and what was the last CD or download you bought?
Currently I am listening to classical music most of the time (Debussy and Schönberg above all. The latter's “The Book of the Hanging Gardens” song cycle is really fascinating). About vocal music I am very fond of the repertoire sung by Cathy Berberian, one of my favourite singers ever. The experimental research that she did on the sound of her own voice in classical music is deeply interesting for me, as it gives a new sound perspective of possibilities in improvisation not related to the jazz pronunciation and language. Lately I'm also listening to Demetrio Stratos (actually I never abandoned it during my entire vocal training), an extraordinary singer and vocal researcher of Greek origin, but who spent most of his life in Italy, whose work has made a remarkable contribution in deepening the knowledge of the voice as an instrument, freeing it from so many clichés and habits.
I have always been researching a great miscellaneous of material to draw inspiration from for my vocal search, trying to keep the sound of my voice natural at the same time. Everything I listen to and explore is so precious to me and helps me to enrich my expressive possibilities with new stimuli, sensations and ideas.
The last CD that I bought is related to the research on Jeanne Lee and it is the reissued of her first album recorded along with Ran Blake (entitled "The Newest Sound Around"). The renewed title is “The Newest Sound You Never Heard” (released on the same day of mine on the 25th January 2019, such a lovely coincidence!). It includes new songs further to the ones of the original CD, released in 1963, that have been recorded during their tour in Europe. It’s been so inspiring to me!
“On a Cloud” (released on the SLAM label) was born during my passionate vocal research focused on the figure of Jeanne Lee, wonderful singer of the avant-garde Jazz. As soon as I listened to her, I was enchanted by her unique voice and by the sensations she conveyed to me through her sounds, lyrics and music. She was a very courageous artist, pioneer of an innovative way of singing in Jazz music starting from the Sixties.
The repertoire of the CD draws on standards, improvisations and original compositions inspired by Lee’s world of sounds. I thought of the duo, voice and classical guitar, as an ideal dimension to rework the poetic, refined and intimate atmosphere of her music. The ensemble is formed by me, on vocal, and the guitarist and composer Sabino de Bari. He is a wonderful, versatile and inspiring musician: I have thought of him as the ideal person for this project with me. Moreover, we have over time developed and matured a consolidated artistic alchemy, as we’ve been playing together for over ten years. In our music both improvisation and composition are experienced as an expressive possibility out of any stylistic connotation. As I wrote in the CD’s cover: “Timbres, words, noises and breaths merge, chase or dance together freely, to evoke suggestions and sound images”.
Jeanne Lee was also a very sensitive and lovely person, strongly committed to social and civil rights throughout all her life. I think that artists cannot be such regardless of this commitment. They have a very important social role. With their sensitivity and the possibility of transforming their experience through their art, they have the responsibility to tell the reality, to resist any form of denial of both freedom and the free expression of everyone and to promote every action aimed at improving both our lives that of the entire community in which we live. For all these reasons the project is a homage to this extraordinary artist.
What other projects are you currently involved in?
I am part of the "Contemporary Duet" together with Sabino de Bari himself. Our musical relationship began thanks to this extraordinary experience. The ensemble was born from the encounter between the classical-contemporary experience and jazz improvisation. The result is a colourful variety of sounds and timbres, as a result of the research on the expressive and technical possibilities of both the voice and the classical guitar as a whole. The repertoire includes original compositions by Sabino de Bari and pieces written by famous contemporary composers, such as Leo Brower and Egberto Gismonti. It represents an intense artistic experience, that wants to find a meeting point between the various musical nuances of the twentieth century.
Before I left my country (Italy) to move to London I was involved in an interesting project with Italian trumpeter and composer Lucia Ianniello. She did extensive research on the pianist Horace Tapscott and his story. She recorded two CDs (both for SLAM) on Tapscott where I was involved. Singing for so long in her ensemble was a significant experience for me and also an opportunity to develop and strengthen research on free improvisation through a collective in which the approach to music was intended as a contribution and not as a competitive way.
What are you currently listening to and what was the last CD or download you bought?
Currently I am listening to classical music most of the time (Debussy and Schönberg above all. The latter's “The Book of the Hanging Gardens” song cycle is really fascinating). About vocal music I am very fond of the repertoire sung by Cathy Berberian, one of my favourite singers ever. The experimental research that she did on the sound of her own voice in classical music is deeply interesting for me, as it gives a new sound perspective of possibilities in improvisation not related to the jazz pronunciation and language. Lately I'm also listening to Demetrio Stratos (actually I never abandoned it during my entire vocal training), an extraordinary singer and vocal researcher of Greek origin, but who spent most of his life in Italy, whose work has made a remarkable contribution in deepening the knowledge of the voice as an instrument, freeing it from so many clichés and habits.
I have always been researching a great miscellaneous of material to draw inspiration from for my vocal search, trying to keep the sound of my voice natural at the same time. Everything I listen to and explore is so precious to me and helps me to enrich my expressive possibilities with new stimuli, sensations and ideas.
The last CD that I bought is related to the research on Jeanne Lee and it is the reissued of her first album recorded along with Ran Blake (entitled "The Newest Sound Around"). The renewed title is “The Newest Sound You Never Heard” (released on the same day of mine on the 25th January 2019, such a lovely coincidence!). It includes new songs further to the ones of the original CD, released in 1963, that have been recorded during their tour in Europe. It’s been so inspiring to me!
Click on the album cover to read our review
What is your all time favourite album and why?
Really hard to say...there are so many that have constantly accompanied me so far, including "Kind of Blue" by Miles Davis, "We Insist! Freedom Now Suite" by Max Roach, "Chet Baker sings" by Chet Baker, "Conspiracy" by Jeanne Lee, "Consummation" by Mel Lewis and Thad Jones...which one to choose? Impossible to say. All of them mean something to me and they still give meaning to my musical journey. Sometimes I listen to them again and discover new aspects, feelings or colours. Sometimes they represent something new to me because it's me that changes over time.
Who has caught your attention recently that we should be listening out for?
Lately I've been fascinated by Odeya Nini. She lives in Los Angeles and she is an extraordinary singer. In her performances she manages to be very experimental in the vocal research without losing the warmth of expressiveness. There is a rather interesting young Italian singer as well, her name is Camilla Battaglia. I suggest listening to her for her already developed interpretative maturity and strong musical personality. I also like Jo Lawry, an Australian born singer but who lives in New York, so refined and fresh in her singing.
Really hard to say...there are so many that have constantly accompanied me so far, including "Kind of Blue" by Miles Davis, "We Insist! Freedom Now Suite" by Max Roach, "Chet Baker sings" by Chet Baker, "Conspiracy" by Jeanne Lee, "Consummation" by Mel Lewis and Thad Jones...which one to choose? Impossible to say. All of them mean something to me and they still give meaning to my musical journey. Sometimes I listen to them again and discover new aspects, feelings or colours. Sometimes they represent something new to me because it's me that changes over time.
Who has caught your attention recently that we should be listening out for?
Lately I've been fascinated by Odeya Nini. She lives in Los Angeles and she is an extraordinary singer. In her performances she manages to be very experimental in the vocal research without losing the warmth of expressiveness. There is a rather interesting young Italian singer as well, her name is Camilla Battaglia. I suggest listening to her for her already developed interpretative maturity and strong musical personality. I also like Jo Lawry, an Australian born singer but who lives in New York, so refined and fresh in her singing.
