CREDITS
Yazz Ahmed (TRUMPET, FLUGELHORN, EFFECTS, VOCALS, CLAPS)
Maurice Louca (ELECTRIC GUITAR, SYNTHS, FENDER RHODES, PERCUSSION, VOCALS, CLAPS)
Marco Frattini (DRUMS, PERCUSSION, SAMPLER, VOCALS, CLAPS)
Rosa Brunello (ELECTRIC & DOUBLE BASS, PERCUSSION, VOCALS, CLAPS)
Special Guests on Jubiabá
Luca Tapino (TROMBONE, VOCALS, CLAPS)
Claudia Bidoli & Enrico Terragnoli (VOCALS)
Recorded by Luca Tacconi at Sotto Il Mare Studios, Verona (Italy) – September 2021
Mixed by Rabih Beaini at Morphine Raum, Berlin
Produced by Rosa Brunello & Tommaso Cappellato
Mastered by Max Trisotto
Original Artwork by Giorgio Pasini
Graphic Design by Mattia Tono
PRESS RELEASE
“Sounds Like Freedom” is the second release from LA-based record label, Domanda Music. It was recorded in September 2021 in Verona, Italy and conceived by bass player Rosa Brunello with notable contributions from UK Jazz star Yazz Ahmed, Arabic experimental music pioneer Maurice Louca and Italian drumming sensation Marco Frattini. Each track is the result of spontaneous improvisations, which have been lovingly post-produced by Rosa Brunello herself and label founder Tommaso Cappellato.
The album speaks to the strange times we have been living through collectively as a society, when direct human contact has been rationed and many performance opportunities have ground to a halt for musicians across the globe. While seeking to respond to this yearning for connection, Rosa uses this album as an opportunity to harness influences from each of the artists who contributed to this recording. At the heart of this album lies its celebration of freedom and the joy of sharing experiences and spaces with others, at a time when such simple pleasures can no longer be taken for granted.
LINER NOTES by ROSA BRUNELLO
Yazz Ahmed, Maurice Louca and Marco Frattini are some of my favorite musicians I’ve had the pleasure to work with lately.
Prior to recording this album I had a clear idea about the sound and musical direction I wanted to pursue with this project. The musicians had never played together before and I was the only person who had performed with each of them individually. Bringing them together for the first time was really exciting as I was trying to imagine what sounds we would be creating as well as the overall musical output.
Tommaso Cappellato and I had been talking about this album for hours on the phone, especially during lockdown, although the idea came before the pandemic. Initially I wanted to write specific tunes, rehearse a few days before the studio date and eventually record the music, but due to the lack of work, gigs and travel opportunities, I kept feeling creatively empty. Moreover it would have been difficult to have people come from abroad for so many days.
I told myself the easiest thing would be to get together in the studio and just create on the spot. The more I kept thinking about it the more excited I got. Why? What does it mean to invite people who have never met before to record an impromptu album? My desire was for everyone involved to feel free, to be able to express themselves without limitations. Yazz, Maurice and Marco are artists with a strong musical identity and creativity and I had no doubts this could work at its best.
What a joy to perform with this combo of visionary artists – whose individual musical worlds I absolutely adore – after months of lockdown and separation! Making music with them was like safely jumping into the dark with no fear or expectations yet with the desire of spending quality time and the freedom of collectively creating.
Recently I had the honor to perform with Dee Dee Bridgewater during her European Tour. She is a special artist and human being who taught me so much about the meaning and the importance of sharing. She told us stories about her work and private life, creating music and traveling with legends, about the feeling of being tired or bored, about waiting and practicing patience. Just like the time I spent with Dee Dee, those days with Tommaso Cappellato, Yazz Ahmed, Marco Frattini, Maurice Louca, Luca Tapino and Luca Tacconi of Sotto Il Mare Studios were joyful moments of pure sharing. The joy of sharing freedom!
BIO
Rosa Brunello is an Italian bass player and composer whose skills range from free radical improvisations to electric rock, dub and modern mainstream. She loves to blend acoustic and electronic sounds in order to challenge the boundaries between genres and live up to her motto of music without borders. She developed her musical style while playing and studying in Berlin, Paris and Amsterdam and has honed her sound through performances around the globe. She is a curious traveler, who is persistently drawn to stray from the beaten path. She has extensively toured in South America, Japan, Canada, Egypt and all over Europe. Along her travels she has collaborated with influential artists such as jazz icon Dee Dee Bridgewater, visionary Egyptian producer Maurice Louca, British-Arabic star Yazz Ahmed, eclectic drummer-producer Tommaso Cappellato, singer-composers Camilla Battaglia and Alessia Obino, jazz saxophonists Francesco Bearzatti and Enzo Favata and guitarist Enrico Terragnoli. Rosa has released five albums, three of these for the international label Cam Jazz before releasing her most recent offering “Sounds Like Freedom” on Tommaso Cappellato’s new label Domanda Music.