PEGASYS - Pegasys
SLAMCD572 (2 CD)
Errico De Fabritiis, alto saxophone; Biagio Orlandi, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone; Francesco Lo Cascio, vibraphone; Gianfranco Tedeschi, double bass; Cristiano De Fabritiis, drums.
This double CD by Pegasys, a quintet of Italian musicians, might very well have been named ‘Writing and Improvisation’, as it sets out to explore possible alternatives between the two methodologies. Pegasys, perhaps rightly, see themselves as a collective, as their philosophy dictates that all five musicians be involved in discerning and defining their musical direction.
The red disc is a collection of tunes composed by individual band members, while the yellow has eight spontaneous, collective, free improvisations. The production defines their researches into a balance between composition for ensemble and collective/individual invention. Pegasys uses muses from 20thC musical patois: be it big-band swing, 60s contemporary, avant-garde or free jazz the sense of their improvisation moves away from the vernacular of any single style.
I like the idea of this study and the two CDs offer a fine comparison. I have to say though that I was not taken by the composed tracks on disc Red, but that surely must be a personal dislike, as on the other hand, I found the Yellow numbers to be completely satisfying and wanted to play them again, immediately. This is a fine quintet of skilled and creative musicians and the album in total has a lot to offer. Fascinating.
Reviewed by Ken Cheetham
SLAMCD572 (2 CD)
Errico De Fabritiis, alto saxophone; Biagio Orlandi, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone; Francesco Lo Cascio, vibraphone; Gianfranco Tedeschi, double bass; Cristiano De Fabritiis, drums.
This double CD by Pegasys, a quintet of Italian musicians, might very well have been named ‘Writing and Improvisation’, as it sets out to explore possible alternatives between the two methodologies. Pegasys, perhaps rightly, see themselves as a collective, as their philosophy dictates that all five musicians be involved in discerning and defining their musical direction.
The red disc is a collection of tunes composed by individual band members, while the yellow has eight spontaneous, collective, free improvisations. The production defines their researches into a balance between composition for ensemble and collective/individual invention. Pegasys uses muses from 20thC musical patois: be it big-band swing, 60s contemporary, avant-garde or free jazz the sense of their improvisation moves away from the vernacular of any single style.
I like the idea of this study and the two CDs offer a fine comparison. I have to say though that I was not taken by the composed tracks on disc Red, but that surely must be a personal dislike, as on the other hand, I found the Yellow numbers to be completely satisfying and wanted to play them again, immediately. This is a fine quintet of skilled and creative musicians and the album in total has a lot to offer. Fascinating.
Reviewed by Ken Cheetham
