Franco Chirivì
Meandri

MEANDRI – WORKIN’ LABEL 2022

FRANCO CHIRIVI’

by MICHELE CUPPONE

If there exists a musician unaware of their own talent, having been educated in the school of discretion, listening, and understanding music in a collective sense, devoid of any egocentrism, a standout collaborator, it is Franco Chirivì, a Salento guitarist on his second solo project. Restraint and essentiality have always characterized his style. This does not change even when he offers himself the opportunity to occupy the stage in its entirety, as the leader of a project showcasing uncommon maturity. This judgment was previously expressed regarding the earlier Nas Cordas (2019 - Dodicilune) and is now reiterated in the recent release Meandri (2022 - Workin' Label). Even with the full time of an album and the space of an entire canvas to fill with colors at his disposal, Chirivì does not overdo the brushstrokes, but uses the language of those painters who leave the nuance of the canvas itself in the painting, stimulating the curiosity of critics who puzzle to decode a hidden message, sometimes nonexistent. He resists the temptation of hypertrophic performances and, in return, opts for the more difficult path, inaccessible to most, unable to move the soul of those who approach music on tiptoe, with devotion. The Salento guitarist, sometimes using a judicious and measured game of overdubbing (the use of the fretless bass in several tracks is very interesting), often duets with himself, conveying to a voice messages that are sometimes crepuscular, sometimes lively, which he crosses with the seductive incursions of the other. The result is, as always, brilliant, the phrasing is punctual, everything appears symmetrical, balanced, to the point of even surprising Mike Stern, a six-string totem, who, in the liner notes of Nas Cordas, gave Chirivì a sincere and heartfelt appreciation.

After that sincere homage to the giants of Brazilian music, today the Salento guitarist returns with a different portfolio, a new palette of colors ranging from the bright tones of a carioca dance to more blue notes, if not introspective and poignant, already suggested by authors who entrusted the word with the difficult task of seducing the listener's imagination. Chirivì approaches with respect and devotion, revealing that he has perfectly learned the main lesson for a musician: what matters is to evoke emotion, not to demonstrate. And the Salento guitarist - that precept - knows it well, having absorbed and internalized it in the best form. Under the influence of instrumental techniques developed by drinking from the sources of Bill Frisell and Jim Hall, Pat Metheny and George Benson, Guinga and Toninho Horta, Vinicius Cantuaria and John Scofield, Romero Lubambo and Ricardo Silveira, the tracks are distinctly permeated by "that" genetic heritage, by a DNA in which, alongside the influences from across the ocean, some of evident Mediterranean origin also appear. Without ever offering slavish renderings.

Classical guitar and jazz guitar are absolute protagonists of Chirivì’s work, well set in changing contexts and formations, in which established musicians from the Salento area participate, with whom the leader creates perfect interplay. The mission is to enhance the nuances, the infinite abstract possibilities of the six strings, in the sign of the quality of the contents.

The glow of Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, which already illuminated the cover of Nas Cordas, shines in the rhythm of Rio Dance, the melody unraveling between passages sometimes joyful, sometimes melancholic, in perfect bossa style. It is the anxious and hopeful mood of the fans going to the Maracanã wrapped in their camisetas, reciting the prayer of futebol. Antonio Valzano's percussive incursions and Alessio Borgia's warm drumming, punctual in marking the rhythms, accompany him to the ensaio of a escola de samba, where there is a mestre da bateria to lead the dances. Thus, Chirivì celebrates the breathtaking beauty of the cidade maravilhosa, paying a personal tribute to a “place” that embodies an ideal, a concept, a way of being, even before being a conglomerate of people, a “people dancing in the streets.” The bytes decrease considerably in New River, an intimate and atmospheric piece, enriched by a different rhythm section, Michele Colaci on double bass and Dario Congedo on drums. Chirivì's phrasing becomes delicate, airy, elegant in its refinement, winking at the North American masters, cornerstone artists of the artist's formation. Emanuele Coluccia's sax integrates perfectly into this almost rarefied atmosphere, not to be disturbed, as a label outside a hotel room would hope. But the most challenging test for Chirivì is the encounter with the classics of the Italian music scene, true totems that the guitarist faces with reverence, not without leaving his own mark. The result is a Canzone di Marinella “composedly deconstructed” in 4/4 and ennobled by Marco Bardoscia’s double bass, in perfect symbiosis with the brushes of an always discreet Alessio Borgia. The dark rhythmic scan marks the progress of this “true story,” whose tragic tones are emphasized by Chirivì’s evocative and participatory whisper, a voice-over narrating without words. Wisely, to not upset those who can’t conceive interpretations different from De Andrè's incomparable voice. The acoustic guitar, of which the Salento artist is a master, finds its definitive consecration here. The graceful flight of a Butterfly offers the happy dialogue with Coluccia's soprano (co-author of the track) and flutters effortlessly over the most elegant harmonic plots woven by Chirivì's guitar, here also dealing with the fretless bass. Sounds intertwining like oxymoronic swirls, reaching upward without renouncing their innate depth, their thickness. Bluesotto reassembles the trio with Colaci and Borgia, and - for those who know Franco Chirivì and his innate passion for wordplay - can be understood as a homage to the great Franco Cerri (master of those puns) and to the most celebrated, assonant composition of Toots Thielemans. The musicians give ample demonstration of their versatility, serving an exquisitely refined taste. The reinterpretation of the “classic of classics,” O Sole Mio is decidedly interesting here, distinct from the overused triad, mainly of Salento, comprising “lu mare e lu jentu”. The touch becomes increasingly Mediterranean, clear, clearly showcasing Naples, but also through a Hispanic lens. No indulgence or surrender to virtuosity. Chirivì's sound doesn’t need it. It isn’t functional. Chirivì doesn’t need it. He has nothing to prove. Scales, chords, harmonic cells, progressions have long been internalized. Distant Clouds is the most captivating and smooth piece of the entire work, a soul-jazz rhythm accompanying the never banal phrasing of the leader, a true Lord of the semi-acoustic guitar, to whose creed he is devoted, in the name of Wes and Benson. The clouds dissipate, the atmosphere is sparkling, the bartender shakes the shaker, the night will be unforgettable. Chirivì seems to want to remove (besides the clouds) also the anxieties and worries of those who listen, pairing the beloved fretless with the tight timing of an inspired Alessandro Monteduro on percussion and the skillful drumming of Borgia, while Emanuele Coluccia sits at the piano, providing the group with a necessary, elegant harmonic support. The title track Meandri represents a meeting point between Chirivì's influences, that perfect intersection between the two spirals of the hypothetical DNA illustrated on the cover. Never before have the two Americas been so close to the Mediterranean; the journey embraces the entire West and unites it definitively, as no diplomacy would be able to do, in an ideal triangle Berklee College-Brazil-Lecce. Coluccia opens the curtain at the piano, leaving the stage to Chirivì and his rich syntax, stylistically impeccable. Michele Colaci's double bass provides rhythmic counterpoint, here with Alex Semprevivo's drums, ennobling what might be considered the true manifesto piece of Chirivì's artistic value. The album closes with a personal reinterpretation of Una Lunga Storia d’Amore. The absence of the lyrics in Chirivì's instrumental performance could have been a limitation for the track, but the deep respect for the harmonic structure and melodic line, blended with the guitarist’s deep taste, has given it a mood completely reconcilable with Gino Paoli's lyrics, as they have provided the foundation on which Dario Congedo's liveliness serves as an excellent stimulus to devise a more lively composition compared to the original. It is the farewell chosen by Chirivì to take his leave, always in an elegant, discreet way. Exactly how he started.

Quality music (“mistura fina” as they would say in Brazil) without room for commercial sirens. Only an urgency to tell the world stories of beauty hidden within the folds of six strings.