Nic’s Road [6:23]
Balkan Air [5:44]
Pianissimo [78]
Cinque lunghissimi minuti [9:18]
Duende [6:08]
¿Hoy es mañana? [3:55]
Ho sognato che mi amavi [6:16]
Meltemi [4:05]
Ninna nanna Nic [4:50]
Theme from the movie "Pinocchio"
[5:31]
Paolo Paliaga (piano)
Dino Contenti (double bass)
Gigi Biolcati (drums)
rec. Artesuono studios, Cavalicco, Italy.
No date given
In recent decades Italy has
produced a stream of excellent jazz pianists
– Giorgio Gaslini, Guido Manusardi, Francio
D’Andrea, Danilo Rea and Enrico Pieranunzi,
to name but a few. Now here’s another fine
musician, Paolo Paliaga.
Paliaga, born in 1961in Varese,
studied in Milan, played in bop and hard-bop
bands in the 1980s, then worked in both France
and Spain; he worked with various groups and
played extensively on the European club and
festival circuit before froming the Alboran
Trio in 2004.
The Alboran Sea is the western
end of the Mediterranean – the western end
of the Alboran is formed by the Straights
of Gibralter. The surface currents of the
Alboran move eastwards, bringing water from
the Atlantic into the Mediterranean; deeper
currents, however, move westwards, transferring
water in the opposite direction. The Alboran
is the point of transition between Atlantic
and Mediterranean; it is also the narrowest
gap between Europe and Africa. It is the perfect
metaphor for the music of this richly intuitive
trio – in which American, European (particularly
Mediterranean) and African traditions come
together. There are obvious affinities (though
no particular indebtedness, so far as I can
judge) to the programme which underlies many
of the recordings on the Egea label, such
as Pieranunzi’s Racconti mediterranei.
This CD takes its title from
the Meltemi, the northern winds which blow
from the Balkans down across the Greek Islands
during the summer – the imagery of flowing
currents of air and sea is, again, entirely
apt for the fluid, interactive music played
by Paliaga and his colleagues. Both Contenti
and Bolcati are excellent musicians; they
are responsive listeners and initiators of
musical ideas.
Save for the last track –
Fiorenzo Carpi’s theme for the 1971 film Le
Avventure di Pinocchio – all the
material is composed by Paliaga and while
he is clearly the leader, it should be stressed
how much this is a trio recording.
Rhythmically subtle and various, there are
moments of straight jazz swing; there are
passages of flamenco-inspired energy and there
are distinct African inflections here and
there –doubtless reflecting the time that
Gigi Biolcati spent working with Koffi Kokò,
a dancer from Benin, and travelling in Africa.
This beautifully recorded
CD is a delight from beginning to end. It
would be pointless to single out any particular
tracks. I played it straight through twice
more after my first hearing. Highly recommended.
Glyn Pursglove
CD Reviews
ACT 9448-2 [60:00] 
