Contemplazione

@BLU: Do you think Stefano Bollani (the Italian pianist I suggested as a "counterpart" to Allevi) is "underground"? On the contrary, everyone knows him; he can be very immediate, communicative, and melodic. Moreover, he interacts with the audience, is ironic, and at concerts he even does impressions of Paolo Conte (more genuine than the real deal)! But hey, if someone has personality, plays well, and sells well, that's great! What’s wrong is when, to compensate for their lack of content or charisma, someone starts cleverly playing with their image to pique curiosity and gain visibility. Allevi acts like a quirky, silly, aseptic, do-gooder little guy... you all like him so much; he just pisses me off.

Giovanni Allevi is not much of a deal. And without a shadow of a doubt, it’s Stefano Bollani who is the most beloved Italian pianist (rightly so!) of recent years. It's quite annoying, then, his quest for eccentricity at all costs and his way of speaking in interviews, repeating word for word with a cheerful, naive, and somewhat fake tone the question that has just been asked before responding. Someone who pretends to be mild-mannered and "distracted," and "messy," to please the masses. Is it asking too much for a musician to provide music rather than attitudes? Original behaviors and strong personalities would also be well accepted, as long as they are genuinely their own (see Monk, for example).

Detestable, always forced and incapable of performing midday. GEEK is right. This little Italian film, made by young mezzogiorno, muccini, accorsi, cristiane capotondi, riccardi scamarci...

And what about that sack of dung Craxi who slept with Moana Pozzi? And it's not jealousy, to be clear, it's annoyance at the waste! I didn't have anything to say when Rocco Siffredi had her... I mean, is the metaphor clear?

Primiballi, what makes Stoney (and me) angry is that an individual who is not particularly talented or deserving of anything receives all this unjustified attention and praise, and is even elevated to the rank of artist, poet, a beacon to follow, a prophet whose arrival we (you) eagerly await to show us the way. Our indignation is similar to what one might feel considering the absolute disparity, unaesthetic nature, and lack of logic in the cause-and-effect connection regarding that hairy booger of DJ Francesco who repeatedly f***ed Aida Yespica. How to say... but no! Why? But that guy is worth nothing, he doesn't deserve this gratification from life! The truth is that as long as there is a certain type of audience, Vasco Rossi will continue to receive disproportionate rewards for his merits, and the silly little dicks, the football players, the "celebrities" will keep f***ing 4-5 stunning girls a month (otherwise inaccessible to them). In short, it's your fault! SHAME!! ;)

Alright Crio, benefit of the doubt! Anyway, I too was acting in good faith; in fact, "collage of records" could suggest a work of cultural synthesis of previous stylistic movements, groups, and sounds... especially since you refer to "contemporary sounds and synthesis," which could be understood not necessarily as "synthetic" (artificial) sounds! Alright about the oversight on Miles, but shouldn’t you reread the reviews before sending them? If I get a chance to listen to the album, I’ll comment on the music as well... for now, I’m reevaluating the review in light of the "justifications." Bye!

And then what the hell are you saying: "It'll be 'copy/paste', it'll always be the same old thing, it'll be whatever you want, but this is Jazz too." What copy/paste? What same old thing? Dozens of versions of "Body And Soul", just to name one; all different!

Okay, it's a duo...of what instruments??? Piano and trumpet? Piano and bass? Sax and bass? Pizza and figs? Shall we talk a bit about the level of interplay? Gabry has already pointed out the terrible nonsense about Miles Davis, to which I say: fine, interesting idea and worthy of reviewing "other" names in jazz, but to do that you must know at least the BASICS! Otherwise, YOU WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO!! Let me explain better: if you don't know the GRAMMAR, the SYNTAX, and the HISTORY of modern jazz (as I assume, if you think Miles is still with us!), how will you grasp the potential dialectical virtuosity, the phonetic nuances, the cultured quotes, the breaks with rules and meter that some contemporary jazz artists might propose? In short, don't talk about things you don't know. I don't know, it's like you were talking about an obscure alternative rock band influenced by Led Zeppelin without really knowing who Led Zeppelin were.

Hi Vì, thanks! Yes, I happened to listen to it through headphones, but mostly because of late-night hours... I'd much rather put my mid-to-high-end hi-fi system to the test (I'm a lucky owner of the "zen system" that was enthusiastically reviewed a few years ago by the magazine "Suono"), and I must say that Paul’s singing sounds even better compared to the headphones! P.S.: Have you noticed that it's rare to find great pianists who don't accompany themselves (even occasionally) with their voice? Glenn Gould in the Goldberg Variations (especially the '81 version) is a striking example, as is Jarrett in his improvisations, where he sometimes almost sounds like he's meowing!

Sorry sonic80 for taking up space in the review! I'm responding to UXO: Well, basically my discography heavily leans towards jazz and classical... on the jazz side, I have about 450 CDs, 200 of classical, and 150 of rock and singer-songwriters. I've transferred all of it to MP3, plus I have some MP3s from a friend of mine (a bit more on the prog side) and it all takes up about 110 GB, easily transportable and transferable with a portable hard drive.
Under the jazz folder, I created a very nice one called "Standards"; it contains all the different versions I have of all the standards from the great American songwriters: Gershwin, Porter, Berlin, Rodgers & Hart, Arlen, and others. For example, the famous "All The Things You Are" by Jerome Kern is present in 21 different versions, in chronological order, including 2 by Monk, 5 by Parker, 2 by Mingus, 2 by Rollins, and single versions by Art Tatum, Serge Chaloff, Lennie Tristano, Bill Evans, Joe Pass, Keith Jarrett, Joe Henderson, Charlie Haden, Brad Mehldau, and Stefano Bollani. It ranges from '45 to 2006, and listening to all of them in succession (with the vocal version first, which helps to permanently fix the melody in your head) is an incredible experience! One cannot truly say they know and understand the American song form and the very art of "traditional" jazz improvisation without doing something like this. Hearing a review of styles, instruments, different line-ups, different arrangements, varying tempos and rhythms, mainstream approaches or more irreverent ones, differences even among various versions by the same interpreter! But the song remains the same, and one is left astonished by the infinite possibilities of variations on the theme, variations in mood, etc., that these "sacred texts" of jazz make possible. A great exercise for the mind and ears!