ROBERTO OTTAVIANO – Forgotten Matches: The Worlds of Steve Lacy
Dodicilune DISCHI Ed334 (2CD)
Volume 1: Quartet
Glenn Ferris (trombone); Roberto Ottaviano (soprano saxophone), Giovanni Maier (double bass); Cristiano Calcagnile (drums)
Volume 2: Duo
Roberto Ottaviano (soprano saxophone); Alexander Hawkins (piano)
Recorded August 2014
For a soprano saxophonist to take on the music of Steve Lacy is perhaps either for the brave or foolhardy, and yet on the face of this latest release from the Italian soprano specialist, Roberto Ottaviano, neither of the above would apply. As he explains in the booklet notes that accompany the CD he has waited some considerable time before he felt able to approach Lacy’s music, and the wait has paid off handsomely as this not just a fine Tribute to Lacy and his music, but a fine album all round…and perhaps the best album that I have heard this year.
If that is a big statement to make on my behalf, then Ottaviano backs it up in spades. The intervening years have seen the Italian absorb Steve’s legacy whilst also trying to break free of the shackles of playing the same (difficult) instrument, and step out from the shadow of the maestro and display his own distinctive voice and approach to the fish horn.
Almost as if he were deliberately trying to make life difficult for himself, Ottaviano presents the music on this double album in two of the settings that Lacy was to make his own, a quartet without a harmony instrument and a duo with a pianist, and then precedes to display just how much of individual voice he is in two distinctively different sets.
The quartet set fairly crackles with excitement, with each member contributing to an overall group sound that can stand alongside and apart from the source material, never dominated by the weight of the written themes and able to find their own space within the music. Glenn Ferris is mighty on trombone and the bass and drums team quickly establish a rapport that permits the music to flow organically. Taking on Lacy compositions such as ‘Blues For Aida’, ‘Trickles’ and ‘The Crust’ and imbuing with a you own collective identity is some considerable achievement.
This attribute is also attained within the duet pieces with British pianist, Alex Hawkins, with the two musicians tackling the material head on. Perhaps easier at times in the sparser setting to focus on Ottaviano’s soprano sound from the highest notes that are played with such purity to the sweetness of the middle register and his willingness to wring every last nuance out the horn with his use of the lowest notes. Once again the musicians break free of any constraints that could be imposed in playing this material, and there are inevitably some fine Lacy compositions to hear, but it is on the non-Lacy tunes that the duo really find their feet and the spirit that was inherent in Steve’s work.
From the exuberance and joy that bubbles throughout Harry Miller’s ‘Orange Grove’ and the deeply lyrical and exploratory nature of Mal Waldron’s ‘The Seagull’s of Kristiansund’ the pair are constantly finding and sharing a joy in each other’s playing. Just listen to the way that they tear up ‘What It Is’, also by Waldron, that is totally exhilarating and absorbing.
It is most unusual for a musician to make what is perhaps their most personal statement by playing the music of others, especially such a towering figure as Lacy, but this is exactly what Ottaviano has done. This album is essential listening not just for those with an interest in Steve Lacy, but also all who are interested in the development of the soprano saxophone in contemporary jazz.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
Dodicilune DISCHI Ed334 (2CD)
Volume 1: Quartet
Glenn Ferris (trombone); Roberto Ottaviano (soprano saxophone), Giovanni Maier (double bass); Cristiano Calcagnile (drums)
Volume 2: Duo
Roberto Ottaviano (soprano saxophone); Alexander Hawkins (piano)
Recorded August 2014
For a soprano saxophonist to take on the music of Steve Lacy is perhaps either for the brave or foolhardy, and yet on the face of this latest release from the Italian soprano specialist, Roberto Ottaviano, neither of the above would apply. As he explains in the booklet notes that accompany the CD he has waited some considerable time before he felt able to approach Lacy’s music, and the wait has paid off handsomely as this not just a fine Tribute to Lacy and his music, but a fine album all round…and perhaps the best album that I have heard this year.
If that is a big statement to make on my behalf, then Ottaviano backs it up in spades. The intervening years have seen the Italian absorb Steve’s legacy whilst also trying to break free of the shackles of playing the same (difficult) instrument, and step out from the shadow of the maestro and display his own distinctive voice and approach to the fish horn.
Almost as if he were deliberately trying to make life difficult for himself, Ottaviano presents the music on this double album in two of the settings that Lacy was to make his own, a quartet without a harmony instrument and a duo with a pianist, and then precedes to display just how much of individual voice he is in two distinctively different sets.
The quartet set fairly crackles with excitement, with each member contributing to an overall group sound that can stand alongside and apart from the source material, never dominated by the weight of the written themes and able to find their own space within the music. Glenn Ferris is mighty on trombone and the bass and drums team quickly establish a rapport that permits the music to flow organically. Taking on Lacy compositions such as ‘Blues For Aida’, ‘Trickles’ and ‘The Crust’ and imbuing with a you own collective identity is some considerable achievement.
This attribute is also attained within the duet pieces with British pianist, Alex Hawkins, with the two musicians tackling the material head on. Perhaps easier at times in the sparser setting to focus on Ottaviano’s soprano sound from the highest notes that are played with such purity to the sweetness of the middle register and his willingness to wring every last nuance out the horn with his use of the lowest notes. Once again the musicians break free of any constraints that could be imposed in playing this material, and there are inevitably some fine Lacy compositions to hear, but it is on the non-Lacy tunes that the duo really find their feet and the spirit that was inherent in Steve’s work.
From the exuberance and joy that bubbles throughout Harry Miller’s ‘Orange Grove’ and the deeply lyrical and exploratory nature of Mal Waldron’s ‘The Seagull’s of Kristiansund’ the pair are constantly finding and sharing a joy in each other’s playing. Just listen to the way that they tear up ‘What It Is’, also by Waldron, that is totally exhilarating and absorbing.
It is most unusual for a musician to make what is perhaps their most personal statement by playing the music of others, especially such a towering figure as Lacy, but this is exactly what Ottaviano has done. This album is essential listening not just for those with an interest in Steve Lacy, but also all who are interested in the development of the soprano saxophone in contemporary jazz.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
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