RAF FERRARI QUARTET - Quattro
Losen: LOS231-2
Raf Ferrari: piano; Vito Stano: cello; Guerino Rondolone: double bass; Claudio Sbrolli: drums
Recorded 22nd – 24th November 2014 by Stefano Bechini at Enropya Recording Studio, Perugia
While this set was recorded some 6 years ago (and mixed in 20150, it was only released late last year. The combination of instruments is not something that you see commonly see in jazz. The recording features two suites: Quattro (consisting of 8 parts), and The Seasons (consisting of 4 parts).
In the first suite, musical styles veer from classical to jazz, via rhythms that carry hints of folk-rock, and snatches of folk music from around the Northern shores of the Mediterranean - while the band might be Italian, some of the themes had a feel of Greek folk music, like the theme to the tv series ‘Who pays the Ferryman’ (just to show my age…). There are four long (around 9 or 10 minutes) pieces, interspersed with much shorter (1 or 2 minute) interludes. On one of the longer pieces, ‘Microictus’, track 3, piano and cello interchange roles to shift from a gently undulating introduction to piano playing that shifts seamlessly between jazz and classical motifs and rhythms. On ‘L’urlo’, track 7, the post-bop jazz sensibility of Ferrari’s playing comes to the fore in a very nice piano trio piece which morphs, following bass interlude into a quartet with cello providing a shift in mood and tempo.
The Seasons suite begins with the ‘cello playing a jaunty air under which the drums strike out a sort of two-step rhythm, and the air is then developed by all four members with the piano following the tune until the ‘cello slips into a slower pace to pause the piece before it picks up. As you might expect, ‘Winter’ begins with a mournful ‘cello line which develops into a ballad which bounces between jazzier and more classical pace and mood. A gentle piano ostinato opens ‘Spring’, like raindrops before the ‘cello joins in. The closing piece, ‘Summer’, is also a ballad, albeit one that has a languid, dreamy feel to it.
It is interesting that the liner notes tells us that Ferrari wrote a thesis on the music of Keith Jarrett- not because there are obvious references in his playing but because the seamless manner in which the music moves between jazz and classical idioms. The use of the ‘cello in the quartet, while still a relatively unusual instrument in jazz settings, adds further to this collapsing of boundaries.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
Losen: LOS231-2
Raf Ferrari: piano; Vito Stano: cello; Guerino Rondolone: double bass; Claudio Sbrolli: drums
Recorded 22nd – 24th November 2014 by Stefano Bechini at Enropya Recording Studio, Perugia
While this set was recorded some 6 years ago (and mixed in 20150, it was only released late last year. The combination of instruments is not something that you see commonly see in jazz. The recording features two suites: Quattro (consisting of 8 parts), and The Seasons (consisting of 4 parts).
In the first suite, musical styles veer from classical to jazz, via rhythms that carry hints of folk-rock, and snatches of folk music from around the Northern shores of the Mediterranean - while the band might be Italian, some of the themes had a feel of Greek folk music, like the theme to the tv series ‘Who pays the Ferryman’ (just to show my age…). There are four long (around 9 or 10 minutes) pieces, interspersed with much shorter (1 or 2 minute) interludes. On one of the longer pieces, ‘Microictus’, track 3, piano and cello interchange roles to shift from a gently undulating introduction to piano playing that shifts seamlessly between jazz and classical motifs and rhythms. On ‘L’urlo’, track 7, the post-bop jazz sensibility of Ferrari’s playing comes to the fore in a very nice piano trio piece which morphs, following bass interlude into a quartet with cello providing a shift in mood and tempo.
The Seasons suite begins with the ‘cello playing a jaunty air under which the drums strike out a sort of two-step rhythm, and the air is then developed by all four members with the piano following the tune until the ‘cello slips into a slower pace to pause the piece before it picks up. As you might expect, ‘Winter’ begins with a mournful ‘cello line which develops into a ballad which bounces between jazzier and more classical pace and mood. A gentle piano ostinato opens ‘Spring’, like raindrops before the ‘cello joins in. The closing piece, ‘Summer’, is also a ballad, albeit one that has a languid, dreamy feel to it.
It is interesting that the liner notes tells us that Ferrari wrote a thesis on the music of Keith Jarrett- not because there are obvious references in his playing but because the seamless manner in which the music moves between jazz and classical idioms. The use of the ‘cello in the quartet, while still a relatively unusual instrument in jazz settings, adds further to this collapsing of boundaries.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
