Ever faithful to expressive and free form jazz, Slam Productions has released three new albums that are sure to create interest.
Paul Dunmall brings his tenor sax, flute and saxello to a team up with drummer Tony Bianco on an exciting 2 disc set that covers almost every period of John Coltrane’s solo career. On flute he delivers a passionate “Psalm” while Bianco focuses on percussion, while on saxello he goes outside and high on the fastballing “My Favorite Things.” His tenor cries on “Ogunde/Ascent” and “Ascension,” and gets soft and fluffy on ‘Central Park West.” With Bianco on mallets, a rubato “The Drum Thing” sets a somber tone while “Naima” is quite fiery. The first disc, done in studio, is well balanced in sound while the second disc has the tenor more right in front of your face, with visceral groans on “Alabama.” A heart on sleeve tribute.
Improgressive is also a duo, consisting of Errico De Fabritiis/as-ss and Alberto Popolla/cl-acl-bcl. Together, they create warm harmonies and melodies with palpable textures on “the Illusion” and the swinging “Sixa 35.” Popolla’s bass clarinet broods wonderfully on the lyrical “Pictures of a City” and “Radio Gnome Invisible” while soprano sax and straight clarinet bop with delight between laughs on “You Can’t Kill Me.” A renaissance feel comes for as the reeds make a clarion call on the rich “Caravan Medley” and they show they can go left of center on the frisky “Soft Machine Medley.” Reed rapture!
The team of Stefano Maltese/fl-bcl-saxello, Ferdinando D’Urso/as-bs, Lorenzo Paesani/p and Federico Sconosciuto/cell bring together nine free form compositions from the studio. The saxes cry and moan both together and separately on “Di-versi” and the sighing “Divergenze” as Maltese’s flute floats over the rumbling piano on “La Oltra Desnuder.” Thoughtful sax and flute grace “Echi” and s Paesani’s piano scrambles on “Batter d’ali” and Sconosciuto’s cello creates a deep pulse on “W.W.” Serious sounds of improvisation.
Slam Productions