[Em]
Live @ Roccella Jazz Festival, San Giorgio Morgeto 16/08/2008

- I Live from Telespalla N°1 -

After the pilot edition and its good result, since it was pleasing to the DeBaser users, I am proceeding with the writing of the actual N°1. Again, I'll allow myself a preview. The next three issues of the column will focus on an important musical event of the Calabrian summer, which has reached its 28th edition: the Roccella Jazz Festival, held in Roccella Ionica (Rc) and in other towns of Locride. Not having been able to attend all the evenings, I cannot provide a general overview which would certainly have been more fair. As an alternative, I'll tell you about three concerts that I deemed noteworthy.

The first in this sequence concerns the group [Em], a very original German trio consisting of pianist Micheal Wollny, bassist Eva Kruse, and drummer Eric Schaefer. The event started with a small inconvenience: the concert location was moved from the local Castle to a small municipal park where there was a kind of "amphitheater," the small stands vaguely reminiscent of one. It began at 10 PM, the German group entered quietly, perhaps almost intimidated by the Italian audience. They arranged themselves at their instruments and began demonstrating all their skills: an explosive, agile, and sparkling music; decidedly original and varied. An incredible alternation between solos, particularly on the piano, and parts where the three merged their individual skills.

All this amid explosive breaks and absolutely spectacular reprises. A decisive element is the collaboration and understanding between them: absolutely perfect and well-tested. Music serves as a human glue in an extraordinary way: only with it can they face an audience probably not used to such concerts which, it must be said, was interested and pleasantly surprised. Indicative, in fact, is the group's introduction, entrusted to Schaeffer. His Italian is hesitant and inaccurate, but no one, except for him, cares: the applause of encouragement comes absolutely spontaneously. In the end, he proceeds with the presentation of the second part's pieces in English. The concert continues with improvisations that confirm the initial indications: young, intelligent, and extremely compact jazz, it almost seems like they want to bring the great stylistic lesson of Kraut-Rock to Jazz.

Before the last piece, Schaefer speaks again, this time seeming reassured and resumes in Italian, confessing to the audience that they didn't bring their records from Germany for fear of not being liked by the Italian audience. Believe me, I would have bought them very willingly. That was the only flaw of the evening. The grand finale featured one of their pieces dedicated (as they said) to the Hardcore of the '80s and its sound. I am convinced that Jello Biafra would have liked it.

In the end, the audience stood up and gave a well-deserved and justified standing ovation. An extremely positive final balance, [Em] return to their homeland with the awareness that they can break through to the Italian audience.

My final thanks go to Filippo Campolo, first for taking me to the Roccella Jazz and then for the splendid photos you will admire from this issue onwards in this column which, without him, would never have existed.