The original Italian Renaissance began when the writings of ancient Greece were rediscovered. Maybe someone is hoping that the revisitation of 60s music can be the 21st Century equivalent. Here are a couple albums dedicated to the era of Shark Skin Suits.
Alto saxist Gaetano Partipilo mixes instrumentals with vocal tracks here making jazz and pop sound like compatriots. Alice ricciari’s gentle voice mixes with strings on the glossily swingin “Beyond the Days” while a percussive vocal delivery gets quite exciting from Rosalia De Souza’s reading of “Se Voce Pensa.” A hip bass groove lays the foundation for Mr. Natural’s delivery of “Autumn Serenade,” and a version of “The Jive Samba” has Natural getting into the boogaloo beat. Partipilo’s alto glows on the instrumentals “The Sticks” and the percussive “13-Death March” making this disc an accessible joy for the pop and jazz fan both.
Vocalist Andrea Balcucci resurfaces some 60s hits and comes up with a few ringers. Who would have guessed someone would dare to give another try to the psychedelic classic “Just Dropped In’ or the lounge lizard delight “Spooky,” but Balducci does, and he makes it work. He ups the R&B factor with his low tenor voice on a soulful “Hurt So Bad” and gets into a Peter Gunn groove on “Time Will Come.” A riveting bass line makes “The Letter” more soulful than it deserves, and he skates like Scott Hamilton on the waltzing “Big City.” A surprising joy! Bravo ragazzo!
Schema Records