1. Primo Apparir
2. L’Orfeo
3. Grappoli Orfici
4. Mirage
5. Secondo Apparir
6.Al Primo Vostro Sguardo
7. The Lover’s Appeal/Terzo Apparir
8. Angela
9. El Grillo
10. Particulare di J. Donne
11. Amsterdam
12. Serenata/Matona Mia Cara
13. My Little Maid and I
14. Canto Vago
15. Far, Far Away
16. Vaghissimo Ritratto.
Gianluigi Trovesi - Alto clarinet
Umberto Petrin - Piano
Fulvio Maras - Percussion, electronics
"Is
it jazz?" is an ancient cry, often preceded
by "But..." to show that assumptions are being
questioned. As this CD is on the ECM label,
one might expect it to be a jazz album, but
this is not always the case with ECM nowadays.
The rather pretentious sleeve-note suggests
that this album is "a journey through melody"
but there aren't many tunes here which stay
in the mind, let alone any that might incite
you to whistle them in the street.
The
album's Italian title might be translated
as "hazy impression" and the overall impression
is certainly indistinct. Some tracks consist
of fragments rather than whole melodies. As
a fan of Monteverdi's Orfeo,
I was interested to hear what this trio did
with one of its themes but it turns out to
be merely a one-minute snatch of a tune, played
twice.
In
fact the group takes the work of several classical
composers as a starting point - including
Josquin Desprez and Orlando di Lasso, as well
as using pieces by more recent tunesmiths
like the Belgian composer Jacques Brel and
the Italian singer Luigi Tenco. In these modern
numbers one can at least discern improvisation
upon a theme, but many other tracks either
state tunes virtually straight or are in "free
jazz" mode and seem like uncoordinated doodling.
The
excellent recording, enhancing everything
with plenty of echo, makes for some entrancing
sounds, but one might still question how close
this comes to jazz. It may sound lovely but
has it really got much substance?
Tony
Augarde
CD Reviews
ECM
ECM 1983
