Proximity (CAM JAZZ)
Enrico Pieranunzi
Released November 2015
DownBeat Four-and-a-Half-Star Review
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/5J15t9Mr4KjkUZwwBBSzOG?si=R3EYBl6zSYKX2oJUn5ht9g
About:
A new, great album by Enrico Pieranunzi. With Matt Penman on double bass. Ralph Alessi on trumpet, cornet and flugelhorn, and Donny McCaslin on tenor and soprano sax. Four superb musicians from different generations, each with a different sensitivity to music, who are having fun looking for a common rhythm, paradoxically with no reassuring support from drums, but trying to back one another up, taking all the jazz they have experienced and striving to conceive their own concept. As in every fine record by the Roman pianist, this CD rests on study, dedication and a respect for jazz, elements that firmly connect Pieranunzi to the traditions of the music he loves and allow him to create and compose new themes. Small steps forward in the wake of great classics. A never-ending search for advancement and new nuances in his songs. Opting to build a fresh musical framework with an unproven quartet is doubtlessly the most concrete evidence of this research and projection into the future. All of the pieces on this CD were composed by the band leader. “(In)Canto” a soft, exquisite opening track, entrusts its theme to the piano and Alessi’s trumpet. “Line For Lee” displays the amazing talent of Matt Penman, whose excellent rhythmic structures are especially crucial in a drums-free recording. “Sundays” opens up with the sax of Donny McCaslin, a sophisticated sax player acting as a perfect counterpart to Pieranunzi in “Proximity”. In the title track, a convoluted interaction of the horns sets the scene, then leaves an opening for the piano and double bass, with Penman performing a fine solo. This record ends with a lively “Five Plus Five”, Alessi and McCaslin being definitely in top form.
Track Listing:
1. Incanto 5:33
2. Line for Lee 5:41
3. Sundays 7:03
4. Simul 4:23
5. No-Nonsense 7:41
6. Template 1 6:01
7. Within the House of Night 5:34
8. Five Plus Five 4:16
Personnel:
Enrico Pieranunzi: piano
Ralph Alessi: trumpet
Donny McCaslin: tenor sax
Matt Penman: bass
Recorded April 9 – 10, 2013, at Sear Sound Studio, New York
Artistic Producer: Ermanno Basso
Recorded and mixed by James Farber
Assistant engineer: Ted Tuthill
Mastered by Danilo Rossi
Photos by John Rogers
Review:
Pianist Enrico Pieranunzi has established himself over 40 years as a star of Italian and international jazz. He possesses an appreciation of classic beauty and eagerness to experiment, technique to realize whatever he imagines, depth of feeling and flawless taste, as well as sparkling touch, mastery of impressionistic harmonies and rhythmic flexibility. A former classical prodigy, pedagogue and colleague of Chet Baker, Charlie Haden and Kenny Wheeler, among others, Pieranunzi in Proximity lets his young bandmates go where they may, guiding gently from within the ensemble rather than imposing his will. Such freedom within frameworks inspires cornetist/ trumpeter Ralph Alessi, who is prominent, and saxophonist Donny McCaslin in compelling contrast. Bassist Matt Penman is extraordinarily sturdy—there’s no drummer but momentum never flags—and his solos shine softly. There’s little in the way of blues connotation, but otherwise the album’s emotional spectrum is wide. “(In)Canto,” in 6/8, sets a sadder-yet-wiser mood that carries past “Line For Lee” (on which Pieranunzi reveals his debt to Bill Evans) to the tender “Sundays,” featuring McCaslin’s soprano and Alessi’s flugelhorn. “Within The House Of Night” is the darkest piece here, and “Five Plus Five” the most Ornettishly playful. Pieranunzi is inside the piano, working the pedals as well as plucking the strings, while Alessi riffs with a vocal-like timbre, and McCaslin blows as if testing his horn’s odd nooks. The quartet abstracts this theme to its limit, but reconvenes in an instant to where they started. Nice move, and certainly worth hearing again.
Howard Mandel (DownBeat)
