Multiple Personalities
Over a decade ago, Molinari arrived at Berklee from his native Naples. He’s remained in the Boston area, this current team comprised mostly of Italians or Italian-Americans. Amalgamating two sessions (full band and piano trio), there’s an attractive variety to the proceedings, a mix of originals and askew standard readings, plus a vibrant, tonally-cosseting audio quality: just right to harness the lusciously poised detail produced by a very individual crop of soloists.
Courageously, the bassist sticks his most uncompromising expressions right at the start. Garzone’s “Anthony Goes to Mardi Gras” writhes like a mini-Centipede, its swelling stormclouds and exultant vocals sounding very Keith-and-Julie-Tippett, easing into a slinky kerb-crawling blues, Galindo’s greased trombone burbling out a rubber-muted splutter. This is followed by the springy vitality of “Ma Che Ffai?”, a fully free-formed improvisation with bass croaking under the bow, drums a-clatter, Garzone drunkenly intoning over the splatter, his sax keening with the controlled flutter-finger shakes.
Some of these cuts were initially intended as warm-ups, but wisely ended up on the final track-list. Three out of the four piano trio tunes are from Monk, the odd-one being “The Peacocks”, this one making a great play on its empty, exploratory spaces. Then “Beatrice” (by Sam Rivers) brings the band back in, making an open-country ramble over fairly straightforward territory. Naples rules on the jaunty folk tune “Tarantella” and also the popular songs (old and modern) “Malafemmena” and “Quando”, where Civello steps forward, refreshingly liberated from any jazz-vocal clichés. Ironically, the sound of European non-conformity dominates, particularly noticeable compared to what’s increasingly the Berklee knee-jerk way.
Martin Longley
