Franco D'Andrea Quartet
The Siena Concert

It is difficult to chase sounds, trying to grasp them is an even more arduous task: you cannot take hold of what is inherently ungraspable. The independence of a note, or to be precise, a set of notes that work together, along with melodies and arrangements, to create a composition is so strong and evident, showing how they are so distinct from the world that surrounds them that they live in their own dimension, made of colors and scents that are part of an intimate and indivisible background.

It makes me think of a suitcase, or rather the microcosm it represents and which, thanks to its contents, tells the personality of its owner: where they come from, where they have been, and where they would like to go. In the same way, music carries its own baggage and never parts with it! You can bring it into your home, but it surely won't absorb its essence; instead, it will settle in and fill the environment with its fragrances, colors, and suggestions, changing it irreversibly and, I would add, for the better. In fact, the approach towards an album involves nothing more than coming into contact with a thought, an idea, a conception of art and emotions intrinsic to an artist. Consequently, it results in a dialectical encounter which, whether liked or not, will definitely be a step forward for both parties: the listener will enrich their listening basket, and the composer will have successfully conveyed their message to one more person; and being listened to today is a privilege that, unfortunately, fewer and fewer people have!

Approaching it in this sense, and adding a touch of desire for detachment from everyday life, I approached a work and a musician who I had not yet adequately studied and appreciated until now. I am referring to the great pianist Franco D'Andrea, known to many for having played in the jazz-rock group Perigeo, an often forgotten ensemble but one that undoubtedly contributed to bringing prestige to the Italian progressive scene of the seventies. The album I want to talk about is titled “The Siena Concert,” a brief and effective name capable of creating immediate images, also thanks to a simple yet evocative artwork: look at the album cover, and stop to think about the footprints that may have walked that pavement and the stories of those who left them. Suddenly, a universe of possibilities opens up, and everything small becomes suddenly large, perhaps too large for a mind to find order amidst so much material. Fortunately, there is the music to guide us, bringing its interpretive coordinates to canonize certain suggestions within the interpretative grid of the most elevated and exciting Jazz, the type of Jazz that makes you strain your ears to catch every nuance related to a particular sound, which makes you love that play of silences capable of allowing you to absorb what you have just listened to in preparation for what will come next. You feel taken by the hand, almost protected as you walk on the aforementioned path, guided through the various stories until you find yourself the protagonist of the sensory experience itself, based on six medleys rich in nuances and details, loaded with immense interpretative strength that blends with a very dense and precise interplay, a formidable and evocative dialogue between the instruments, capable of communicating even through skillful use of atmosphere, creating expectations that are effectively met. Live performances like “The Siena Concert” are true musical and cultural gems, the type of culture I like to accompany with the adjective “of the beautiful,” an artistic product that possesses a strong aesthetic while dressed in simple attire: the Franco D'Andrea Quartet does not need to resort to production room artifices to be convincing, a clean recording is all it needs!

To close, I can only say I am truly proud to listen to a work of such grandeur, a piece that, for me, is already a classic in the live jazz discography, alongside giants like: “The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings” by John Coltrane and “At The Blue Note” by the Keith Jarrett Trio. Perhaps to some, I am exaggerating, but albums like these make me proud of being passionate about such an exciting form of art as music.

Franco D'Andrea Quartet: Franco D'Andrea, piano; Andrea (Ayace) Ayassot, alto and soprano sax; Aldo Mella, bass; Zeno De Rossi, drums.