Fabio Concato
Ballando Con Chet Baker

Album from 2001. Absolutely delightful. Fabio hasn't stopped and continues to churn out very sweet tracks, particularly in this album, seasoned with good orchestration. The track "Ciao Ninìn" was presented at the Sanremo Festival, but it didn't receive much attention, and it's also structured in the commercial version with strings and symphony.

Tango accents and swing rhythms, Brazilian influences, and classic Italian melodies come together to form an overall very pleasant album, which has something to tell. The good Fabio speaks to us like a modern minstrel about the human condition, the introspective and melancholic one, and you can pleasantly perceive a good dose of autobiographical note.

Love always on the strings, in "Naturalmente" the opening track of the work. Truly moving. It is followed by "Chicco di caffè", a smile, a touch of irony, in a romantic and slightly more serene frame, also very melodic and transporting. "Ciao Ninìn", the Sanremo track, very enveloping and autobiographical, in which the sea is cited again, a very frequent and strong appeal for Concato. Brazilian and melancholic notes in "quanta nostalgia", while in the track "in coda" the more aggressive rhythm gives the piece grit and modernity. There's a bit of tango in the veins of the piece, and the unresolved restlessness of the caged wolf is felt. Emotion wins. Just as fun and autobiographical, almost whispered "Che stress": the piano, companion of solitude, helps transport. "Semitango" is really interesting and always portrays the key theme of Concato's music: the love conflict. The album's title, the tribute to Chet Baker, "Ballando con Chet Baker" in a languid and dreamy atmosphere. "Tinti" closes the album, and it is a really nice story of Concato as a child. The years pass, and random encounters bring back pleasant and submerged memories, veiling life with a bittersweet serenity.

A good work, a squeeze of heart, many South American influences for an album that I recommend.