Richard Galliano
French Touch

My mother was supposed to be Richard Galliano, since my grandfather, who played the tenor saxophone in a coal mine band in northern France, had it in his head that if his firstborn were male, he would learn to play the accordion. My mother didn't learn anything, but my grandfather's records were a training ground for both her and the whole family.

Perhaps that's why, when I first heard the title track of the album, "French Touch", Musette Waltz by Richard Galliano, the dance music of Central-Eastern Europe came back to mind. Classics of the accordion that I listened to as a child on my grandfather's records. Surely that's why I was struck while listening to it in the background, skimming through the Jazz section at Ricordi on Via Ugo Bassi in Bologna. I recognized Richard, and as I recognized him, I rediscovered the old scent of my grandfather's records. "French Touch", as mentioned, is a Waltz with a bewitching Jazz rhythm, which made me buy the album on the spot, practically blindly. The rest of the tracks might not have pleased me, but it didn't matter because I wanted to own the piece I was listening to. However, I did like the album: it didn't make me shout for a miracle but it is a classy album, a kind of class that appeals, for a classy instrument and a classy musician.

The album opens with "Bèbè", a tribute to the fabulous Hermeto Pascoal and Brazilian rhythms. The track is a breath of introspective Choro, a never forgotten musical movement, a precursor of Bossa Nova, recently brought back into vogue in our parts thanks to the interest of Stefano Bollani. Galliano had already tried to explore Brazilian music with a doubtful-taste album where, free from blame, he was a guest of Chet Baker and the Boto Brazilian Quartet. The traditional tribute to the land of his ancestors, a land he is very attached to, could not be missed, and with that, the doors of the Italian beautiful country open wide with the notes of a heartfelt version of "Caruso" by Dalla, brought by Galliano as in a shameless passion from an early 1900s Parisian brothel, rather than left by the sea of the Sorrentine Peninsula. Another notable piece is surely "Heavy Tango", which, as the title suggests, grabs the listener's attention with strong impulse and an aggressive approach to Tango, where passion takes on the status of suffering. I've always found the musical derby between Argentina and Brazil as interesting as the football one. Galliano returns with the much-loved Musette Waltz, and "Augusta", another piece under his signature, although less incisive and captivating compared to "French Touch", is a melodically pleasing track.

Those who buy it don't just get the audio CD but also a delightful DVD of a concert recorded in the summer of 2000, where Galliano is engaged with his acoustic trio, featuring Jean Marie Ecay on guitar and Jean Philippe Viret on double bass. In conclusion, it is a very pleasant album that won't disappoint those seeking to approach the world of Jazz accordion, and it certainly won't disappoint fans of the Maestro Galliano's atmospheres. My grandfather's second child was a boy, but my uncle is rather tone-deaf: Rock was just an excuse to make noise in his youth. Richard Galliano was born the same year as my father: my father was supposed to be Richard Galliano.