Stefano Bollani
Småt Småt

LA RECENSIONE

Warning, this music contains a high dose of Småt Småt.
So say the liner notes of the latest beautiful solo album by pianist Stefano Bollani, one of the main figures in the Italian jazz scene, just released by "Label Blue France".

Småt Småt, which means tiny tiny in Danish. Småt Småt, because the album contains fourteen small tracks, two to three minutes each, which Bollani draws from his own drawer of musical memories, more or less recent.

And what are these memories? We've got something for everyone. From "Norwegian Wood" by the Beatles, to the delightful tango "Danza de la moza dolosa", to "Let's Move to Cleveland" by Frank Zappa, passing through "Peter and the Wolf" by Sergei Prokofiev. It's worth highlighting the track "Il mare si è fermato" by Marco Parente, in which Bollani also challenges himself as a singer, managing to be as expressive as his fingers on the piano. Even better, from this perspective, when he intones the words of "Trem das onze/Figlio unico". There are also moments when Bollani delights himself with the accordion. There's no denying: well done!!

A varied album therefore, but still a jazz record. Because the pieces that Bollani performs are inevitably transformed, modified. But in doing so, Maestro Bollani always maintains a particular attention to melodic development. Perhaps this care for melody comes from his classical training. It matters little, however. What counts is the result, which I would define as excellent, also because Småt Småt is the first solo album recorded by Stefano Bollani. I believe and hope it won't be the last.

The next one, however, won't come immediately. Bollani, as he himself told listeners of Radio 3, is, in fact, working on a challenging project, which will be exactly the opposite of Småt Småt: a piano concerto that involves collaboration with dozens of musicians and very long pieces. This demonstrates the desire of this excellent pianist to play, research, and create. Stefano Bollani never stops and to those who love music, this cannot be anything but pleasing.