Gino Paoli
Milestones

The project is undoubtedly commendable. The protagonists are of an absolutely and indisputably high caliber. The result... the result... well, in short. Because when you finish listening to this -still important- CD, you are left with a taste of only partial satisfaction, much like some wines that are indeed prestigious, refined, and highly crafted, but in the end, they don't quite convince you. Here, even agreeing with all possible criticisms about the highs and lows of production, we are surely facing a Singer-songwriter, one of the first, one of the greatest. Someone who has proven, in life, to have an extraordinary "sense of the song." And who, unfortunately, has often shown that he cannot fully distinguish a beautiful song from a hit-list tune or another whose apparent cunning could have risked ruining his entire career.
But, as we know, Gino Paoli is like that. He knows how to write the harmonies of "Il cielo in una stanza," or that absolute masterpiece "Senza fine," and he also knows how to dish out the (to me) increasingly unbearable "Gatta" on every occasion, or how to conquer the charts, even in his senior years, with the very debatable "Quattro amici" (at the bar). In short: an impossible songwriter to love and impossible not to love (forgive me: like women). The others, for those who know and love Italian jazz as much as I do, need no introduction. Surely one can say, without fear of contradiction, that when the harmonic part of a piece is left to people like Danilo Rea or Renato Sellani (guest in "Quando" by Tenco), and the rhythm to individuals such as Roberto Gatto or Rosario Bonaccorso, the structure of the piece is as good as done, and one can rest easy. When the solos are in the very capable hands of Enrico Rava and Flavio Boltro, well, there's not much you can do: even here, the result is guaranteed. Moreover, Paoli, whose "sense of the song" has already been mentioned, also has singing abilities worthy of note, with that seemingly lazy and Chet Baker-esque pace, with that seeming insecurity and on the edge of intonation when in reality, it's absolutely perfect. So what? The setlist? No: even that, essentially, perfect (with one less "Gatta" and a different "Vivere ancora" it would have been absolutely perfect). So, upon reflection, an almost excellent album. And indeed it is. But it's that "almost" that bothers the part of me that loves absolute musical perfection, especially when it's really there, within arm's reach. How could this album have been perfect, then?
Personally, with a studio recording, which would have allowed for the perfect selection of every element (for instance, I bet, maybe not both, that Rava would never have kept the "Vivere ancora" present on this album when faced with several takes), then a slightly retouched team (why two trumpets and two pianos? Wouldn't it have been better to include a good sax or a good guitar...? Surely, they're not lacking in Italy...), then by giving the whole thing an absolute air of a "ballads" album, with atmospheres that recently have been mastered by Charlie Haden or Pieranunzi, if you catch my drift.

This album is, fundamentally, an album of ballads, but it is not just that. And what emerges is a somewhat uncertain work in its intentions, apparently. Surely a beautiful concert with amazing protagonists; but, as with certain wines and certain films, prestige is not enough. Sometimes the excellent director or the great wine expert make the difference, and here you get the feeling they were missing.