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Rating: A few months ago, I had the opportunity to hear Ada Montellanico in concert with Enrico Pieranunzi. That evening, the artists presented their latest album dedicated to Luigi Tenco: "Dance of a Nymph Under the Moon". At the end of the concert, I had the chance to exchange a few words with Ada and arrange an email interview which you can read below. From this interview, her passion for jazz emerges, a passion that in this case encountered the music and life of Luigi Tenco.
1. Hello Ada, first of all, I wanted to thank you for your willingness to answer the questions of this mini-interview, and I wanted to start by asking what you are currently working on.
Thank you for your interest in my artistic activity!! I have just finished my numerous summer concerts and the next appointment sees me engaged as a guest in Pieranunzi's ensemble in a tribute to Piero Umiliani during the Rome Film Festival on October 19th, and then more concerts on Tenco, with the next important date in Pescara on October 26th as part of the "Festival Jazz'n Fall."
2. Last year, together with pianist Enrico Pieranunzi, you created the musical project "Dance of a Nymph Under the Moon", an album that, in my opinion, is more than just a simple tribute to Luigi Tenco because you and Pieranunzi wrote music for unpublished texts by the singer-songwriter. Could you tell us how this beautiful idea came about and how you experienced it?
It was all very casual... I was asked to write a book on Tenco and, although skeptical, I accepted the challenge. Today I would say it was important to start an in-depth exploration of this incredible singer-songwriter whom I consider the most important in Italian music. Writing brought me to contact the Tenco family, and a strong friendship developed with them. They invited me to Recco, and there I had the chance to see where he had lived in the '60s, his remaining belongings, the guitar, the sax, his writings, and on that occasion, I read some unpublished poems that I had also found in an anthology of his curated by Enrico De Angelis. But the direct contact and the emotion I felt led me to the idea of setting them to music. I spoke with Enrico, and from there, a new Tenco journey began. It certainly wasn't what I intended to do musically, but it all started on the wave of emotion and passion for his songs and poems. Thus, "Dance of a Nymph" was born for Egea, and then my book "Almost Evening, A Story of Tenco" was released for Alternative Press.
3. The musical structure of the album seemed rich and balanced to me, conveying the feeling that this work integrates your musical personality with that of Enrico Pieranunzi, but always with Tenco embracing everything in a harmonious way. Is it just my impression, or does the result correspond to a clear intent pursued by you in making this album?
The collaboration with Enrico has lasted for 20 years now, with obviously periods of separation where each of us went our own way. I couldn't have realized this project with anyone else. We share a common way of feeling music, and his strong relationship with poetry and melody led to conceiving the project together, also seeking arrangements of Tenco's songs that could be close to our interpretation. The relationship with the Tenco world was strong but also free, as every good jazz artist should be. To "use" Tenco's words and music to tell our stories.
4. I have always thought that Tenco's music has many potentials to be interpreted in a jazz key. In other words, many of his songs, not just the most famous ones, could become real standards even at an international level. I think, for example, of "Nocturne Without Moon" or "Almost Evening" (present in "Dance of a Nymph Under the Moon"), according to you, is this possible familiarity with jazz born from the fact that Luigi loved this music played in his youth? Moreover, can jazz represent a way to "legitimize" many Tenco songs that are not adequately known to the public?
Absolutely yes! Tenco's love for jazz shines through every note, and therefore, for us, the translation into our language is easier, even though I would like to make a rather difficult distinction between Italian "jazzy" songs and the recreation of materials belonging to the singer-songwriter music in jazz. It is a very strong difference, and I think it can be perceptible to many. It has been 10 years since the first homage to Luigi ("The Other Tenco" of 1996) that my research has become to rework what I call the Italian standards. Let's not forget that the pieces used by jazz musicians in America are nothing more than songs taken from musicals, Broadway's repertoire. I would say the same container of our light music or singer-songwriter style. I believe it is very important for the rediscovery of our musical history, and you can find real gems sometimes superior to American standards. I think the jazz language can help rediscover this sometimes-forgotten repertoire for both jazz and non-jazz audiences. It happens to us in concerts to have an audience that loves this singer-songwriter but does not know what are defined as the minor tracks that are not minor ("Time Passed", "Almost Evening", "Having You in My Arms", "Somewhere in the World"). Tenco's last period is always represented, which I find furthest from my sensibility. I prefer his compositions up to 1965, that Tenco who, in my opinion, faced with bitterness but with depth the man-woman relationship, the one who still had hope and a desire to do. That is what feels closest to me.
5. Moving from the album to the book dedicated to Tenco ("Almost Evening: A Story of Tenco"). An experience that surely gave you a lot. How was it to transition from being a musician to being a writer?
It was a fundamental step. The in-depth exploration of the historical and musical profile also made me discover something I did not know. It allowed me to appreciate many aspects of his sensitivity, always having, however, a critical attitude towards his human path. Many critics gave me the great recognition of having shown unknown sides, new points of view. They say it's the first time that a singer, therefore a colleague of Tenco, elaborates his world, having first entered it through music, different from being an outside observer analyzing. I entered his music, sang it, and then elaborated with verbal language. And perhaps it was the first time a woman wrote about him. It's an entirely different perspective; I positioned myself as a possible interlocutor of the singer-songwriter.
6. We are at the end, and to close, I would like to broaden the musical discourse a bit. In your career as a performer, you can boast many important collaborations, I think of names like Enzo Pietropaoli, Massimo Urbani, Roberto Gatto beyond the already mentioned Enrico Pieranunzi. Considering all these experiences, could you give us a picture of your musical references and maybe suggest some albums that you consider essential?
There have been many references in jazz for me, but if I had to choose, I would say Chet Baker, Billie Holiday, Betty Carter, and Bill Evans. The first two for the extraordinary emotion they give us when we listen to them. They are great interpreters and know how to "tell stories" like few others. Betty Carter for musical intelligence, for her freedom in reworking the standards, for the fusion between head and heart, which is indispensable to become artists. Bill Evans for his lyricism, his poetic world, with him, I discovered many standards I didn't know.
The CDs to listen to, in my opinion, are:
- Chet Baker: Chet Baker Sings and Chet Baker Sings Again
- Billie Holiday: Lady In Satin
- Betty Carter: Whatever Happened To Love
- Bill Evans: Live At Village Vanguard
and you really must know the cornerstone of world jazz: Miles Davis Kind Of Blue
Thank you again, Ada
Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to speak not only with sounds!!!
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