Ah! To be a guitar fan! This is a great year for lovers of the six strings! Not only are we having some great concerts, but new artists like Dario Chiazzolino are making themselves known to us. This guy is from Italy, and he’s played with some big names like Dave Liebman and Billy Cobham, so you know he’s got chops galore. What’s even better, is that he’s got the Italian-bred feel for style and taste, and on this album with heavy hitters Taylor Eigsti/p, Willie Jones III/dr and Marco Panascia/b he deftly combines form and feeling.
Most of the compositions are his own, and he shows flair with the pen as well. You get hints of Pat Metheny on lyrical and cascading pieces such as “Precious Things” and the fragran “Far From Here” both which mix moods that shift gears like a Lamborgini with flavors as sumptuous as a marinara sauce. Chiazzolino has an inherent lyricism and clean touch to his solos, gently dueting with Eigsti on the beginning endearing “Nostalgia” or traipsing through the bramble bushes with Jones’ brushes on the suavely bopping “There Is No Greater Love.” The mix of melody and kinetic drive serves as a sweet and sour sauce on “Nel” and the rippling “Awake,” while acoustic guitar fans will swoon and sway over the glowing “Paint Your Life” that makes you feel like you’re on a moonlit night in Piazza Navona. Check this guy out! Is he coming to the states?