Barbara Casini
Sozinha

I remember seeing a few years ago a concert by Barbara Casini in a duo with guitarist Sandro Gibellini (another musician too little known by the general public, whom I might talk about in the future in another review). Knowing Sandro's way of playing, I expected a concert of good, classic, wonderfully elegant jazz, and I wondered how his "gibson" could coexist with the classical guitar of Barbara. Well, that concert was a revelation: not so much because of the guitarist whom I already knew and who has never disappointed me, but because of the protagonist of this review.

The album "Sozinha," which features Casini alone with her guitar, is a perfect synthesis of the extraordinary qualities of this interpreter: first and foremost, a perfect voice. Clear and light as a spring breeze, soft and alluring in pronouncing words that seem born just for those notes, for that bittersweet mood of bossa nova. But it's not just the voice that strikes and amazes: Barbara Casini is a refined guitarist who in the solo dimension can freely unleash her accompaniment rich in imagination and rhythm, a gorgeous fusion of singing and music, with excellent technical mastery and a disarming naturalness.
It's difficult to choose particular tracks since this album constantly travels on levels of excellent inspiration. You realize it right from the first track "Tin Tin Por Tin Tin": a lively rhythm, marked by that vein of melancholy that is the very essence of Brazilian music, where Barbara manages to sing in mid-high registers with a sweetness impossible to describe in words. There's also a classic by Tom Jobim like "Desafinado," whose interpretation is not lacking in any way compared to native artists.

This is precisely a point that needs emphasis: do you have to be Brazilian to sing Bossa Nova? Do you have to be black to sing the Blues? Do you really need to be American to be considered a great jazz musician? (Yes, perhaps in Italy we have some ugly inferiority complexes). I believe that life experiences and an artist's sensitivity can largely make up for demographic issues, especially in this era that should push us to develop the positive side of globalization: the immense wealth that can arise from the meeting of different cultures. Perhaps, a special mention for the song "Eu te amo": for the voice that rocks you like sea waves, for the melody made to mourn a lost love, to fully live that sadness colored with beauty, to suffer and be reborn from such beauty. It seems to whisper to you that after all, no matter what happens, life is wonderful.

Genre: Bossa Nova