Quintorigo
Grigio

The Quintorigo represented, towards the end of the '90s, the most interesting and innovative musical ensemble on the Italian scene, a striking case of a liberating explosion of creativity.

Their artistic goal is simple yet not easy to put into practice: to demonstrate that there are no barriers between musical genres, and that music is only one, in fact two; the good one and the bad one! Their formula is equally simple and effective: using an entirely acoustic instrumentation, usually linked to the world of classical music or jazz, to perform a repertoire of original compositions that have only indirect and derivative links with those worlds, plus the inclusion of covers primarily tied instead to electric instrumentation, or of another nature. Their music is precisely a melting pot of styles and quotations, where pop, jazz, reggae, rock, hard rock, thrash metal, singer-songwriter music, tango, Italian bel canto, funky, and a cappella vocals find an admirable and coherent synthesis.

The formation, a quintet, consists of a string trio (violin, cello, and double bass), a multi-saxophonist, and a vocalist. These instruments are often used in a percussive, plucked, rhythmic, unconventional way, giving their music enviable freshness. The double bass can become a "bass drum," and the cello, violin, and saxophones "electric guitars."

"Grigio," their second album, released in 2000, has characteristics of great artistic and stylistic maturity and brings the group's internal dynamics to perfection; it is with this album that Quintorigo becomes true masters of their language. At the time, the group was still led by the exceptional John De Leo, who recently left the group to pursue a solo career. To the writer, he is the greatest Italian vocalist since Demetrio Stratos, the glorious voice of Area. De Leo's vocal range is astonishing, managing to cover almost five octaves (like Bobby McFerrin), and his intonation, together with the power in emission of which he is capable if he wants, truly leaves you incredulous. But while from a purely technical point of view he is impeccable, what really conquers is the beautiful timbre, charisma, his emotional rendering, and interpretative delivery of the lyrics (written by himself), modulated and "recited" with great depth. Every word is caressed or stabbed by his voice, often baritone, with sensitivity and peaks of ruthless irony that leave a mark. The icing on the cake is the daring harmonizations that De Leo obtains by overdubbing choirs where he himself is every voice, often reaching even shouted, retro, noise-oriented, humoristically hysterical, and schizophrenic effects. Sometimes there is the impression that the main voice is visited by parallel, twisted thoughts, now childish now demonic, fleeting appearances on the right and left channels. Other times instead, as in the beautiful "Zahra," De Leo's voice becomes a double bass, drums, harmonica, saxophone, violins, percussion, creating a truly engaging rhythmic and melodic vortex. The extremely deep and sustained notes of the introduction are impressive. A brilliant track, entirely made up of overdubs of his voice. A demonstration that the recording studio itself can be an "instrument" if used intelligently.

While it's right to celebrate De Leo, the other members of the group are no less important and certainly should not be forgotten! They are the excellent brothers Andrea and Gionata Costa, on violin and cello respectively, Stefano Ricci on double bass, and Valentino Bianchi on saxophones. All conservatory graduates, these musicians have little to do with the academic or musty, and on the contrary, they have managed to invent a group sound if not entirely unprecedented, very original nonetheless, and an approach to the played material full of both grit and refinement at the same time. They are all co-authors and co-arrangers of the splendid compositions on this album.

"La Nonna di Frederick lo portava al mare" is one of the most beautiful songs of the last decade, with a somewhat reggae pace; "Grigio," which mimics Paolo Conte, contains both "down-to-earth" (a raspberry to Celentano: "the afternoon is too GRAY and long for me") and lofty quotes (Leopardi: "and drowning is sweet to me!"); "Malatosano" addresses with text and music the theme of spiritual corruption ("sap and poison coexist; when digested, I'd be almost serene, chronically sickhealthy"); "Precipitango" is a beautiful instrumental piece with a bittersweet character, enriched by a wonderful trumpet intervention by Enrico Rava; "Egonomia" is a grand piece of acoustic heavy metal that outdoes in results the overrated Apocalyptica (who redid Metallica in a string quartet), and contains a strong socio-economic critique, as can be easily deduced from the title. Surprisingly, an electro-acoustic cover of "Highway Star" by Deep Purple arrives, very faithful to the live version contained in the historic "Made In Japan." The saxophone and violin solos retrace almost note for note the performances of Jon Lord and Ritchie Blackmore, and as a hard rock singer, De Leo would have nothing to envy Ian Gillan, except that English is not his native language, which is noticeable in his pronunciation, sometimes too enunciated, having to constantly "rush" not to fall behind!

Also worth mentioning is the ghost track on the album, "Alle spalle" (track number 55), which seems, indeed is, a theatrical psychodrama of great introspection and rawness, where De Leo tells and acts out in first person, with a superb performance, the protagonist's paranoid hallucinations. His use of voice seems to come straight from a (high-quality) dubbing school. The music perfectly follows the vicissitudes' alternating and turbulent evolution. It all reminds you of certain old-time radio broadcasts, those radio dramas often produced with great class and skill!

Beautiful. Sap and poison coexist.