TOMMASO CAPPELLATO

7/12/10

NEWSLETTER JULY/AUGUST 2010

CONCERTI

VENERDI 16 LUGLIO h21:30
Piazza del Comune - Castellina In Chianti (SI)
http://www.chiantifestival.com

ALESSANDRO LANZONI
GABRIELE EVANGELISTA
TOMMASO CAPPELLATO
special guest MARCO TAMBURINI

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DOMENICA 18 LUGLIO
Chiostro Santa Maria della Consolazione - FERRARA

CARLO ATTI

ALFONSO SANTIMONE
DANILO GALLO
TOMMASO CAPPELLATO

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DOMENICA 25 LUGLIO h21:30
Enoteca Italiana Fortezza Medicea - Siena
http://www.sienajazz.it

INJAM FINAL CONCERT

SEAMUS BLAKE
ALESSANDRO LANZONI
FRANCESCO DIODATI
GABRIELE EVANGELISTA
TOMMASO CAPPELLATO

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LUNEDI 2 AGOSTO
Cerveteri (Roma)

ROSENWINKEL-LANZONI QUARTET

KURT ROSENWINKEL
ALESSANDRO LANZONI
GABRIELE EVANGELISTA
TOMMASO CAPPELLATO

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GIOVEDI 5 AGOSTO h21:30
Enoteca Corte dei Leoni - Padova

NESSO G

MICHELE POLGA
FRANCESCO BIGONI
DANILO GALLO
TOMMASO CAPPELLATO

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VENERDI 6 AGOSTO
Le Vie Del Suono - Levico (TN)

CLOUDS OVER ME

MICHELE POLGA
PAOLO BIRRO
ROBERTO BORDIGA
TOMMASO CAPPELLATO

6/25/10

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

Another great hang in New York City, always so vibrant and stimulating. I originally had to go and take care of some business for my immigration status and it was obviously a good chance to see my big family of friends as well as an excuse to play with my fellow musicians. Emi also came along - it was her first time! - and I really enjoyed serving as a guide and being a tourist myself checking out some things I had yet to see. For the first week we had the honor to be hosted by Mr. Carlo Vutera, owner of one of the best music clubs in the city - Rose Live Music located on Grand St. in Williamsburg, Brooklyn - which has become during the last few years THE spot for new bands and concepts to develop into amazing musical projects and often a residency for some well established acts. During our stay there Emi and I had the opportunity to hang with Mr. Fangio, Carlo's little dog, who actually appears to be the star (if not the boss!!) of the entire neighborhood.

This time around my gig took place at Nublu along with Michael Blake, Jason Lindner and Ben Allison. It was my first time playing with Jason and Ben and it was something I had in mind for a long time. The music was spacey and groovy at times, especially playing "For Tommaso" a tune that Jason wrote for the occasion, featuring a tight hip hop groove on the A section switching into a more melodic and dreamy bridge. Definitely a great present from JL!! A lot of friends showed up, some of whom I hadn't seen in years, which made it even more fun. Here's an excerpt from Nublu.

Some of the best performances I've seen this time around actually took place at Rose. I really enjoyed listening and dancing to the music of Troy Simms's Mobius Collective with special guest Jojo Kuo (former drummer of Fela Kuti's Egypt 80) and the sound of percussionist Chauncey Yearwood's Soul Survivors who has been performing at this venue every Monday for the last 3 or 4 years. It's amazing to see how everybody has grown so much on their musical concept. This goes for other two great artists I kept up with, Brian J and his Pimps of Joytime and my longtime companion and partner in crime Yah Supreme who is now working on his latest album.

I was definitely struck by Jason Lindner's projects Now Vs Now and his latest Breeding Ground both playing at the Zinc Bar in Manhattan, which new location I had still never seen. Among the many musicians who took part to this concert were Mark Guiliana on drums, Panagiotis Andreou on bass, Edmar Castaneda on Colombian harp and many other great talents. Jason is in my opinion one of the most visionary musicians around who is able to keep his music fresh, vibrant, enjoyable and sophisticated. Keep an eye on this cat!

I couldn't miss going to the Vanguard, an old time favorite. Paul Motian was playing with an interesting set up: 2 bassists Thomas Morgan and Ben Street, Masabumi Kikuchi on piano and Loren Stillman on alto saxophone. The music didn't take off as I was hoping it would, but it was fun hearing Poo's (Masabumi's nickname) noises during his playing - Keith Jarrett is nothing compared to him as far as covering his own solos with his voice!!! After the gig we got to hang out with Poo, Thomas and my good friend Todd Neufeld who I hadn't seen in a while. He's another musician/artist whose future will definitely be as bright as his guitar playing Todd already recorded in a number of interesting records including "Koan" by Tyshawn Sorey with Thomas Morgan on bass, one of the most beautiful things I heard in recent times. Something I will definitely work on will be a project that I started while still living in New York that featured Todd on guitar and a few other great young cats in the scene. Here's me, Thomas Morgan and Todd, just in front of the sexy shop, next door to the Vanguard.

During my tourist trips to midtown Manhattan I had a chance to go visit my friends Barry - owner of Drummers World drum shop - and Roberto Romeo, the famous saxophone repair man in New York. Roberto showed me his new rehearsal studios one of which might turn into a concert room. Stay tuned for that.. In the meantime you can check his website: Roberto's Winds.

What else, oh yeah! can't miss to mention the great punk festival I saw in Thompkins Square Park with people dancing around in circles. I almost got involved but then I bailed out not to get hurt!
Ciao New York!!!

Dance in Punk Festival - NYC from Tommaso Cappellato on Vimeo.

Thompkins Square Park June 2010

6/20/10

BRUSSELS

It's been quite an intense month between travels, gigs and future planning. The highlights of this busy period were definitely my trips to Brussels and New York. I had never been to Brussels before and what a better occasion than playing some music. I got invited by my compatriot and old school mate Nicola Lancerotti - now a jazz bass player and a Belgian resident - who I hadn't seen in years. Among the venues we played at I especially enjoyed Sounds Jazz, owned by an Italian jazz connoisseur, Sergio, and by far one of the oldest and most atmospheric clubs in Brussels. The quartet, named for the occasion "Remember Frank?" included - besides me and Nicola - two other great musicians, pianist Augusto Pirodda (who recently recorded with Paul Motian and Gary Peacock) and multi-reeds player Jordi Grognard.

Besides music I also got to enjoy the beautiful architecture of the city, especially those "art nouveau" buildings that are designed with such grace and fantasy. The main artist in such architecture in Belgium was Victor Horta whose many buildings are viewable throughout the city.

Other musicians I got to meet and hang out with were piano player Giovanni Di Domenico who, along with his partner Pakyan Lau, formed a in interesting minimalistic music band called "The Crappy Mini Band" touring mostly in Europe and Japan, great Portuguese drummer Joao Lobo, Italian saxophonist Daniele Martini and bass player Manolo Cabras. Brussels is also the city of Eurocracy with a lot of non-profit organizations in all kind of fields with a lot of young employees from all over the world some of whom I had the pleasure to meet.

5/28/10

Coming Up In New York City

B.L.A.C. @ NUBLU

Saturday June 5 - 9pm

AVE. C Bet. 4/5 St. New York

Michael Blake - Jason Lindner - Ben Allison - Tommaso Cappellato

5/26/10

Jazz Tokyo Review

OPEN got reviewed by pianist/composer/writer Nobu Stowe on the Japanese web magazine http://www.jazztokyo.com... wish I could read Japanese but at least I was told the review is positive!

4/29/10

BYRON-PUGLISI-CAPPELLATO TRIO

In this new project drummer and composer Tommaso Cappellato teams up with eclectic piano player Fabrizio Puglisi and multi-instrumentalist Don Byron. After his recent recording debut "Open" with Michael Blake and Giovanni Guidi, Cappellato is again taking on a new musical challenge with a bass-less trio including two of the most interesting performers in the international jazz scene. One of the founders of the collective Bassesfere, for over a decade Puglisi has been very active in the avant-garde scene throughout Europe collaborating with some prominent artists. Don Byron, an artist who needs not any introductions, has been a singular voice in an astounding range of musical contexts, exploring widely divergent traditions while continually striving for what he calls “a sound above genre.”

In questo nuovo progetto Tommaso Cappellato, batterista e compositore, viene affiancato dall'eclettico pianista Fabrizio Puglisi e il pluristrumentista Don Byron. Dopo il suo recente debutto discografico intitolato "Open" con Michael Blake e Giovanni Guidi, Cappellato rilancia una nuova sfida musicale con un "bass-less" trio assieme a due dei musicisti piu' interessanti nella scena internazionale. Uno dei fondatori del collettivo Bassesfere, da piu' di dieci anni Puglisi e' parte integrante della scena piu' libera della musica europea, attento ricercatore di suoni "altri", rappresenta una fonte d'ispirazione per molti musicisti italiani. Don Byron, virtuoso improvvisatore di rara fantasia per oltre due decenni si e' misurato con una sorprendente varieta' di progetti. Clarinettista, sassofonista, compositore, arrangiatore e critico sociale, Byron regala un'impronta personale ad ogni genere musicale con cui si mette alla prova.

LIVE:
April 24 2010 - Il Torrione Jazz Club - Ferrara
May 1 2010 - Ischia Jazz Club - Ischia (NA)
June 17 2010 - Carega Jazz Festival - Verona

ALL ABOUT JAZZ U.S. REVIEW

OPEN
Tommaso Cappellato | Elefante Rosso (2010)

By Bruce Lindsay

Italian drummer and composer Tommaso Cappellato drives a strong and intelligent quartet on Open, his first album as leader, to create a rewarding and eclectic set of tunes that borrow innovatively from hip-hop, free jazz and funk. The album showcases Cappellato's writing talents as well as his percussion skills, while his choice of some exceptional fellow musicians—he formed the quartet in 2008—augurs well for his future as a bandleader.

The album's first track, "Nowhere, Now Here," finds Michael Blake's lyrical soprano sax taking the lead, whereas "Open" sees him demonstrating a harder-edged tone—exciting, insistent and almost aggressive at times. Blake's playing gives the album both an edge and sense of urgency that are central to its overall feel. It's an edge that carries over into "Episode 29"—where it's matched by Joe Rehmer's bass—and into the short and punchy "Scream Away," which opens with slinky drum and bass work before Blake's screeching sax bursts out and literally does what the title says it will.

The album's key track is "The Knight," an exciting and complex tune that gives all of the musicians space to shine. Blake's playing, on tenor is, once again, lyrical and melodic, while Cappellato provides a rhythmic centre as well as playing some inventive drum patterns. It's pianist Giovanni Guidi's turn to provide the attack by way of some emphatic chordal work and some firm yet precise single note patterns.

Across the rest of the album the quartet constantly displays invention and imagination. "Krishnamurti" opens with Guidi's rich piano solo, soon followed by another of Blake's beautifully rough-edged sax parts. Both musicians seem to quote from "The Ugly Duckling"—not exactly a staple for jazz improvisation—before Rehmer takes over with a short but emphatic bass solo. "He Said Then She Said" is credited to Cappellato and Rehmer, and features the two players in duet on a piece which begins in a freeform style before shifting into a hard-nosed and funky groove. "Natural Element" sees Cappellato soloing on piano, and while his playing lacks Guidi's delicacy and flow, it is still a skilled performance.

Cappellato has described Open as his "project." On this evidence it's an extremely successful one that deserves to grow and develop across more recordings, building upon this impressive and enjoyable debut.

Track listing: Nowhere, Now Here; Open; Episode 29; World Traveller; Mysteries of Life; Talk to Me; Scream Away; The Knight; Krishnamurti; He Said Then She Said; Natural Element.

Personnel: Tommaso Cappellato: drums, piano (11); Michael Blake: soprano and tenor saxophone; Giovanni Guidi: piano; Joe Rehmer: bass.

Style: Modern Jazz

4/15/10

ALL ABOUT JAZZ ITALIA

Nuove interviste e recensioni sul sito ALL ABOUT JAZZ ITALIA

RECENSIONE "OPEN" DI VINCENZO ROGGERO
INTERVISTA DI ANGELO LEONARDI
FOTO GALLERY DI ANTONIO BAIANO
QUESTIONARIO DI PROUST DI PAOLO PEVIANI

4/6/10

CONCERT IN MINORCA

On April 2 2010 the Quartet was invited to play in Minorca, Spain. It was the first European date since the birth of this project and it was a very successful event. This concert fell right on my birthday. The name of the festival was Jazzobert, which in Catalan means "Open", just like the title of the album that I'm promoting - now available on Itunes. Some pleasant unexpected coincidences.

The quartet featured - just like the recording - Michael Blake, Giovanni Guidi and Joe Rehmer. We played some material from the album, a couple of Blake's originals and some free improvisation. The audience was warm and receptive. Nobody smoked during the concert and I was told that it was a big sign of appreciation. Here's a couple of videos from the concert.

Calypso - The Cuckold from Tommaso Cappellato on Vimeo.

3/15/10

UPPERGROUND ORCHESTRA

http://myspace.com/uppergroundorchestra

U.O. is a concept invented by DJ/Producer Rabih Beaini aka Ra.H. An inventor of styles and founder of record labels Morphine, Lanquid & Elefante Rosso Ra.H has released a considerable amount of tracks that have become the new trend in electronic music and techno-jazz. As stated by the artist "Morphine's mission is to keep alive the revolution of techno and house music. Since its birth, the label grows around the original concept of discovery and experimentation, while delivering raw and defined methods of production".

Besides putting out his own music under the name of Ra.H as well as Morphosis Mr. Beaini has released several albums by other very influential artists such as Anhony "Shake" Shakir, Jamal Moss (under the name of Hierogliphic Being), Sensational, Paul Randolph and some other up and coming yet brilliant acts like Madteo, Ksoul and Upperground Orchestra. This last project is actually a band whose core components are Ra.H on analog synthetizers, drum machines and MPC, myself on drums and bassist Alvise Seggi along occasional guests. Previous sessions included excellent musicians in the avant-jazz scene such as vibraphonist Pasquale Mirra, percussionist Leo Di Angilla, saxophonist Ralf Altrieth, multi instrumentalist Piero Bittolo Bon, keyboardist Max Bustreo and piano player Matteo Alfonso.

U.O.'s music is described as a fusion between the eclecticism of modern jazz and electronic music, this is what it's all about. Performances cross historical Jazz sound, elementary electronics, and free improvisations, in order to create a contemporary sound and an avant-garde feeling. Arrangements and ambientations reproduce the acoustic and electrical styles of the schools of Chicago and Detroit, Jazz of the 50s blent in with original Techno: an imaginary meeting between Sun Ra and Kraftwerk, John Coltrane and Carl Craig.

U.O.'s first album "Solaris Eremit" came out in 2008 for Morphine Records and has soon gone out of stock throughout the major retailers worldwide, while a second release is expected next April on the Belgian label Meakusma covering a remix of Terrence Dixon's track "Room 310" which has been described as Cosmic Insanity! Check it in!

3/3/10

MONDO JAZZ

"OPEN" reviewed on MONDO JAZZ blog!

TOMMASO CAPPELLATO QUARTET - OPEN (ELEFANTE ROSSO) 2009

Post n°1453 pubblicato il 02 Marzo 2010 da pierrde

Dopo quarant’anni di concerti e di ascolti è difficile emozionarsi ancora al primo ascolto di un album. Evento raro, in particolare se si tratta dell’opera prima di un giovane batterista, italiano e conosciuto praticamente solo dagli addetti ai lavori. L’album in questione è uscito lo scorso anno per Elefante Rosso, ma di fatto è scomparso subitamente dai rari negozi che trattano la musica jazz, e se non ne avessi ricevuto una copia dallo stesso Tommaso non sarei mai riuscito ad ascoltarlo. Già sulla carta il gruppo appare intrigante, grazie al sapiente accostamento del sassofonista americano Michael Blake con il pianista Giovanni Guidi, adeguatamente supportati dal contrabbasso del chicagoano Joe Rehmer e dai poliritmi di Tommaso Cappellato. Le composizioni sono tutte del leader, ad eccezione di alcune brevi improvvisazioni di gruppo e del brano suonato solo dalla sezione ritmica (He Said Then She Said), che mette in rilievo un timing perfetto ed una naturale melodicità espressiva. Il gruppo suona un jazz eclettico e moderno, un occhio alla tradizione ed un altro alla sperimentazione, con un ottimo groove impreziosito dal suono acido ed obliquo delle ance di Blake. Mi hanno impressionato e convinto fin dal primo ascolto i brani dal tempo lento e rarefatto dove il tocco sapiente ed evocativo di Guidi lascia una traccia indelebile. Mysteries of Life e Krishnamurti rivelano una liricità emotiva non disgiunta da una profondità compositiva e spirituale di grande interesse. Le note sottratte hanno un peso ed una importanza equivalente a quelle suonate, contribuendo ad accrescere il pathos. Ma è tutto l’abum a convincere ascolto dopo ascolto. L’affiatamento tra i musicisti è palpabile ed evidente, tanto da far sperare in un seguito sia concertistico che discografico. Intrigante, originale, eclettico.

V A L U T A Z I O N E : * * * *

1/22/10

NESSO G

The album NESSO G is finally out on PUNTO ROJO RECORDS

(a sub-label of El Gallo Rojo Records)

Available on ITUNES and AMAZON

SHOWS

March 15 2010 - Il Torrione Jazz Club - Ferrara

http://myspace.com/ilnessog

Michele Polga - sax

Francesco Bigoni - sax & clarinetto

Danilo Gallo - bass

Tommaso Cappellato - drums

Punto Rojo 2010

NESSO G at Radio 3 BATTITI on February 23 & 25!
GET PODCAST HERE

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REVIEWS

JAZZIT (Maggio/Giugno 2010)

Al primo impatto il progetto Nesso G sembra costruito secondo i dettami di un collettivo avant-garde o free, basato su pochi concetti compositivi e con ampia liberta' all'improvvisazione d'insieme. La musica e' pero' molto piu' complessa, con temi piu' melodici (Mysteries of Life, l'originale arrangiamento di On Green Dolphin Street), momenti di ispirazione quasi 'popolare' (la seconda parte di Lullaby of Rattlesnakes) e le interessanti sonorita' piu' evocative di The Knight e To Be. Danilo Gallo sembra tenere le fila dell'ensemble, con pedali, parti in swing e riff d'effetto, rendendo libero il lavoro di Cappellato che ben sfrutta tutti i suoni dello strumento. I due sax si lanciano spesso in soli all'unisono, a volte armonizzati in contrappunto, in altri casi quasi esponendo delle fughe improvvisate, oppure con uno dei due strumentisti che realizza arpeggi come tappeto armonico per l'altro, caratterizzando l'insieme per creativita' ed originalita'. (Eugenio Mirti)

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BLOWUP MAGAZINE (Maggio 2010)

Quartetto con 2 sassofoni tenore (Francesco Bigoni e Michele Polga), un contrabbassista richiestissimo come Danilo Gallo e un giovane batterista di cui sentiremo parlare, il padovano Tommaso Cappellato. Ci sono profumi di annia Sessanta, quasi doncherryani, c'e' una densita' spontanea che sposta le coordinate verso il downtown, c'e' molto da scoprire. (Enrico Bettinello)

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JAZZITALIA (Aprile 2010)
E' piuttosto sorprendente nel 2010 ascoltare una musica con le radici ben piantate nelle "new thing" degli anni sessanta e scoprire che gli interpreti sono quattro giovani artisti italiani: i sassofonisti Michele Polga e Francesco Bigoni, il bassista Danilo Gallo e il batterista Tommaso Cappellato. Il disco possiede molti meriti e parecchie indiscutibili qualità. Innanzitutto dimostra quanto la scuola serva e quanto, allo stesso modo, le buone collaborazioni e l'applicazione alla lunga paghino. I due sassofonisti, ad esempio, vantano la partecipazione a corsi di perfezionamento o la frequentazione di musicisti come Stefano Battaglia, Franco D'Andrea, David Liebman…Non sono da meno Tommaso Cappellato che, per un lungo periodo, ha studiato negli Stati Uniti e Danilo Gallo, una delle anime del collettivo "El gallo Rojo", colonna del "Tinissima quartet", ma pure inserito in innumerevoli progetti fuori o dentro l'etichetta che distribuisce anche il presente cd. Conoscere la materia, la storia del jazz, è fondamentale, ma l'ispirazione che sorge dall'analisi di uno stile ben definito, in questo caso il free nella accezione più "nera" del termine, non produce un qualcosa di accademico o di imitativo. Siamo lontani dalla riproposizione letterale, in sintesi e, infatti, dei sei brani che compongono la scaletta solo due non sono opera del quartetto e contengono, in generale, elementi originali. Nelle varie tracce i due sassofonisti espongono, quasi sempre, il tema all'unisono e poi si liberano in assoli, a volte contrapposti e a volte simultanei. Vogliono creare un suono, un'atmosfera, un discorso. Non gli interessa primeggiare uno sull'altro in senso "antagonistico". Il timbro dei due tenori ricorda maestri come John Coltrane o Archie Shepp, ma si apparenta anche ai nuovi campioni del "mainstream free" del "giro" di William Parker, come Daniel Carter, Rob Brown o il più recentemente esploso Greg Ward. Tommaso Cappellato, a sua volta, privilegia un accompagnamento essenziale con un lavoro insistito su cassa e tamburi e un uso parsimonioso dei piatti, per scomporre e ricomporre ritmicamente i diversi brani, rammentando il modus operandi di Ed Blackwell. Danilo Gallo, da parte sua, assesta colpi secchi con il contrabbasso, contribuendo a formare una base ritmica scarna, ma intensa, sulla linea di un Henry Grimes per intenderci. Le perle del disco sono "To be", di Coltrane e lo standard "On Green Dolphin Street". Il pezzo tratto da "Expression" riceve un trattamento tanto solenne quanto aperto e gronda di spiritualità come l'originale nella sostanza, ma contiene la ricerca di un'attualizzazione nella forma. La rilettura dello standard è così personalizzata da omologarlo al resto delle composizioni di cui è costituito il disco. Insomma: "Nesso G" è un ottimo biglietto da visita per un gruppo che si è unito da poco tempo e conferma che l'etichetta "El Gallo Rojo", qui nelle vesti del nuovo "Punto Rojo", è una garanzia per una musica mai scontata o routiniera. (Gianni B. Montano)

12/25/09

GRAVITY.FM

Ra.h's Edit from "The Knight" made it as one of the best tracks of 2009 on the chart http://gravity.fm

11/22/09

QUARTET & TRIO TOUR

Just completed a round of gigs around Italy with my own projects: the Quartet featuring Michael Blake, Giovanni Guidi and Joe Rehmer and the Trio featuring Alessandro Lanzoni and Gabriele Evangelista. Eight gigs total in twelve days. The tour started off and ended in Padova, my hometown, playing for two different jazz festivals. The first three dates (November 6/7/9) were dedicated to celebrating the release of my new quartet album entitled "OPEN" (Elefante Rosso Music) playing in Padova at Spazio Gershwin Music School, where I currently teach, in Bari at Club 1799 directed by saxophonist Gaetano Partipilo and finally at the Bologna Jazz Festival performing at a new venue called Il Posto.

The trio tour started off at the same spot in Bologna the following day on November 10. After a 5 days gap we played again in Ferrara with a very special guest, tenor saxophonist John Ellis. He and I went to New School together a dozen years ago and we hadn't been playing since. He was touring with John Patitucci and Brian Blade and had a few days off before going back to NYC. Francesco Bettini, art director of Bologna Jazz Festival as well as the Torrione Jazz Club in Ferrara, didn't waste any time and organized everything last minute. It was a very special night, the atmosphere was that of an old fashion jazz club, filled up with musicians, young students from all over the world, music lovers and occasional customers. John played exquisitely and the rhythm section fit very well with his style.

The next day John had his flight back to the U.S. from Verona where we played as a trio at Cantine De L'Arena. After that we proceeded to Marostica at Panic Jazz Club. Here we had another great saxophonist sitting in with us, Michele Polga. The whole set was recorded and possibly one of the tunes will be included on a vynil release from the club best sets. Our last gig was at Hotel Plaza for Padova Jazz Festival. It's been a very special way to end the tour having to open up for Brad Mehldau and his Trio. Many musicians were in the audience including Mehldau, Jeff Ballard, Larry Grenadier, Greg Hutchinson, Reuben Rogers and Joshua Redman. The overall vibe of the festival was great making some really nice connections. Hopefully the Trio will record some time next year. Stay tuned.

10/31/09

"OPEN" CD RELEASE TOUR

I'm proud to announce the release of my first album as a leader entitled "OPEN" published by Elefante Rosso Music and distributed by Rush Hour Records. Three amazing musicians are also part of this record: Michael Blake on tenor and soprano saxophones, Giovanni Guidi on piano and Joe Rehmer on bass.

Preview and order available at RUSH HOUR RECORDS and ITUNES

Sono lieto di annunciarvi l'uscita del disco 'OPEN' (Elefante Rosso Music), il mio primo lavoro come leader assieme ad altri 3 magnifici musicisti: Michael Blake, Giovanni Guidi e Joe Rehmer. Per l'occasione faremo 3 concerti in varie citta' d'Italia.
Spero di potervi vedere in una di queste occasioni.

Il disco "OPEN" e' distribuito da Rush Hour RUSH HOUR STORE

Sara' inoltre disponibile in forma fisica presso il club Elefante Rosso a Mestre (VE)

TOMMASO CAPPELLATO QUARTET
feat. Michael Blake, Giovanni Guidi, Joe Rehmer

6 Novembre h. 21:30
SPAZIO GERSHWIN
Via Tonzig, 9 Padova
http://www.storiedijazz.com

7 Novembre h. 21:00
CLUB 1799
Piazza dei Martiri, 42 Acquaviva delle Fonti (BA)
http://www.club1799.it

9 Novembre h. 22:00
IL POSTO (Bologna Jazz Festival)
Via Massarenti, 37 Bologna
http://www.ilposto.bo.it/
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Produzioni

LUDMILLA FACCENDA
ART & NETWORK
Via Ercole Ricotti, 19 20158 Milano
info@artandnetwork.com
http://www.artandnetwork.com/

10/24/09

Live Session with Fabrizio Puglisi & Alvise Seggi

On October 13 2009 I had the honor and privilege to meet and play with piano player Fabrizio Puglisi. I had heard about him since I moved back from NY and had been wanting to meet him for the longest time. Once again it happened at our music temple, Elefante Rosso in Mestre right outside of Venice. Fabrizio is originally from Sicily living in Bologna since the late 80's where he co-founded the music collective Bassesfere for the development of improvised and creative music. His work expands on an extended area of styles but the focus remains that of creativity and freedom. His collaborations include some of the most important names of avant-garde jazz like John Zorn, Steve Lacy, Louis Sclavis, Lester Bowie, Don Moye, George Russell, David Murray, Butch Morris, Hamid Drake. He also spent a considerable amount of time in Amsterdam, where the free jazz scene is quite popular, playing with the likes of Tristan Honsinger, Han Bennink, Ernst Glerum, Ab Baars, Sean Bergin, Ernst Reijseger, Tobias Delius.

I was very impressed by the well-roundness of this artist, who can play all sort of styles, from afro-cuban and be bop jazz to contemporary classical music, mainting the same individual sound.
On bass my good friend Alvise Seggi, another member of Upperground Orchestra, an electro-jazz band we are both part of with producer Rabih Beaini, owner of Elefante Rosso. The set included some original tunes by Fabrizio and myself alternated to some free style improvisations. It all flowed very naturally as if we had been playing together for years. The whole session was recorded and I'm soon going to make it available for download.

Here's the link to the Jazzos page with some of Fabrizio's recordings.

9/27/09

Paul Randolph @ Elefante Rosso

Another amazing night at Elefante Rosso. This is going to be a great season for the newly born club in Mestre! Club owner and founder Rabih Beaini decided to give a preview of what is to be expected for the remaning of 2009 by hosting bass player and singer Paul Randolph backed up by myself, Michele Manzo on guitar and DJ/producer - a pioneer of broken beats - Enrico Crivellaro aka Volcov aka Isoul8.

Paul Randolph, originally from Detroit - vocalist, guitarist, bass player and producer - previously worked with Carl Craig, Hugh Masekela, Funkadelic, War, Waajeed of PPP, Amp Fiddler, “Mad Mike” Banks and many other soul, R&B and electronic music artists. More recently he's been guest starring with German nujazz band Jazzanova.

It couldn't be a better way to start the Elefante Rosso concert series especially since Paul recorded the very first release on Elefante Rosso Label, the single "Collide" remixed by Volcov (ER001). Being my record "The Knight" the number 2 of the series with an edit by Ra.H, we finally joined forces to showcase both the label and the club... and we made it happen! Another great meeting that is sure going to lead to further collaborations.. Detroit - Venice via Berlin.

Hamid Drake & more...

Just came back from a couple of days in Milano. I had two great sessions with piano player Antonio Zambrini and young bass player Andrea Di Biase. Mr. Zambrini is definitely one of the most underrated pianists around. His musicality and knowledge on the instrument are astonishing as well as his beautiful arrangements and compositions. He recently recorded an album with NY based trumpeter Ron Horton entitled "It's A Gadget World" published by Abeat Records but his recording production is pretty vast having played with the likes of Lee Konitz, William Parker and Hamid Drake.

Speaking of which... the main reason I went to Milan was to meet my good friend and inspirer Hamid Drake, on a day off between his tours. Besides being an outstanding musician, an innovator of percussive instruments and a musical chameleon Hamid is a very spiritual person. He has a deep knowledge and understanding of Eastern philosophies and religions. He practices yoga, meditation and chanting which definitely enhance his clarity in music. His band as a leader is called Bindu a Sanskrit word that describes one of the main chakras. Hamid is about to release his third album with this project entitled Bindu III on the french label Rogue Art.

Not everybody knows that he has been involved in countless projects with such musicians like Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Don Cherry, Pharoah Sanders, Archie Shepp, Foday Musa Sosa, David Murray, William Parker, Anthony Braxton and many others. At the end of the '70s he was a member of the Mandingo Griot Society, one of the first world music ensembles. It included Drake on drums, tabla and bells, Foday Musa Sosa on kora and voice, Adam Rudolph on bongos, congas, timbales, djembe and Joseph Thomas on bass. Their first recording guested Don Cherry on trumpet. A later recording entitled Jazz Africa includes Herbie Hancock on piano and Armando Peraza on congas. Definitely a few recordings worth checking out...

More & more people should be aware of the immense contribution that this wonderful musician and human being brings to contemporary music and art. His fresh and positive approach in relating to his fellow musicians and the audience through creativity and spirituality sets a good example of human and artistic conduct for those who like me are engaging in this art form as a way of living.

9/12/09

CVL Drums

For the last 2 years I've been collaborating with CVL Drums, a company owned by Mr. Lucio Cavallarin, based in the city of Chioggia right out of Venice in Italy. Their main aim is to build quality instruments thanks to their long time experience in wood working in many other industry fields.

CVL works are very original due to the strong relationship between the artist and the manufacturer. Their staff always welcome new ideas and develop its products based on both the musical and selling potentials of the instruments. They build drums with any kind of wood and in any kind of finish, experimenting on the ways of assembling the shells, on their sizes and implementing the sound with additional elements, like finger cymbals or string guitars.

My favourite instrument from their production is a jazz set made out of African mahogany wood. Besides the wood quality the real new thing is the fact there are no lugs on the shells, so what you end up playing is a solid, un-holed drum. They made it possible by adding long screws that go from one hoop to the other. The result is that by tightening the top head you also tune the bottom one simultaneously. Usually one would consider this as a down side but the outcome in sound is really outstanding. The hoops are made of the same wood and they are very resistant and hard to get dented. Even the bass drum is suspended through the same system. The main characteristic of this drum set is a super warm and original sound with a long projection. Playing the snare drum and bass drum feels like dipping a spoon in soft butter. This is how it looks:

Here's a demonstration and description of the set I made in 2008 at CVL headquarters.

The following is a clip from "Venezia Suona 2008" Music Festival, held in Venice - Italy every year. Dozens of musicians are spread throughout the city playing simultaneously in different locations. Unfortunately that day we got caught in the middle of a storm passing through that area, so you see people running to find some dry place where to rest. It was challenging and fun playing and keep concentrated on the music.

Othe interesting works by CVL:

For More Info Visit:

http://www.cvldrums.com
http://www.myspace.com/cvldrums
http://www.myspace.com/cvlpercussion

8/30/09

NICHE

Nice Review of the vynil single "The Knight" on the Japanese Internet Radio Show and Blog NICHE. The Blog includes other amazing cuttin' through acts like Mocky, Mulatu Astatke, Vincent Moon & others... worth checking it out even you don't know Japanese.. this is the pic they posted on the page..