Alessandro Castelli plays Yamaha trombones and Euphonium.
Rudy Fantin plays Fender Rhodes Mk1, Steinway & Sons mod. A and P
Recorded at New Art Recording Studio in Uboldo (VA) and Mixed by Stefano Amerio at Artesuono in Cavalicco (UD), Italy in 2015.
“When two musicians play the music they love, but mostly love the music they play, they give us that glimpse of humanity and spontaneity that all art forms should express. This album represents exactly that: a pairing that manages to catch our attention and help us travel towards places that would be usually unreachable. Rudy Fantin on the piano and Rhodes and Alessandro Castelli on the trombone and euphonium converse with extreme ease and honesty in a language that, even if rooted in Afroamerican music, from Gospel to Jazz, takes on new flavours, opening unexpected windows on other musical scents, always with discretion and refinement, addressing very diverse themes and composers that, thanks to the hand skills, the swing, and creativity of the two performers, assume a common denominator. In a world where by now fashions dictate directions, unfortunately also in the arts, that should instead be free from any kind of conditioning, listening to Fantin and Castelli becomes a breath of fresh air, as you can clearly feel the deep love for music and the healthy pleasure in having fun with the notes. Two musicians that aren’t afraid to show their soul and literally play with Duke, Mingus and Monk… And that’s not a small thing!” [Dado Moroni]
“I had the chance to play with Alessandro Castelli at a few gigs, and he impressed me favourably with his impeccable preparation as an instrumentalist and musician. Equipped with a nice sound and a fluid and articulate phrasing, he finds himself comfortable both in Jazz and Classical Music. In this recording we can hear Castelli in an unusual duo (trombone and piano) with the good pianist Rudy Fantin, and his qualities emerge brilliantly. The repertoire ranges from some originals written by Alessandro to well known jazz standards such as Monk’s “Round Midnight”, followed by other compositions by Mingus, Randy Weston, Abdullah Ibrahim and Charlie Haden. Particularly inspired and effective are the pieces leaning towards a more Gospel character, such as Charlie Haden’s “Silence” and “Spiritual”, along with the moving “The Wedding” by Abdullah Ibrahim. “Spiritual”, the track that ends the album, make use of the FVG Gospel Choir, arranged by Fantin, in a really effective manner. “Bells”, the first piece of the album, is a really original and chromatic blues in F written by Alessandro, and his interval phrasing reminds me of some of Antony Braxton’s compositions. “Reincarnation of a Love Bird”, by Charlie Mingus, has an interesting introduction that Alessandro plays with a mute called “plunger”, and contains citations from Luciano Berio’s “Sequenza V”. The unusual combination between Mingus and Berio is due to the fact that both compositions has the world “Clown” in common – title of the Mingus album contains that song, and the Clown Grock to which Berio dedicate his “Sequenza”-. “E la chiamano Estate”, a nice piece by Bruno Martino, and a ballad by Kay Windings – great American trombonist with whom I had the pleasure of touring a few years back – are the other pieces in the album”. [Attilio Zanchi]
Track List:
- Spiritual (C.Haden) 5:01 Featuring FVG Gospel Choir
- Little Niles (R.Weston) 5:51
- Reincarnation of a Loverbird (C.Mingus) 6:54
- Silence (C.Haden) 6:28
- Bells (A.Castelli) 2:20
- Lady H (K.Winding) 2:25
- Blueuphonium (A.Castelli) 4:19
- Un attimo (A.Castelli) 5:53
- E la chiamano estate (Califano – B.Martino – Zanin) 5:18
- Duke Ellington’s Sound of Love (C.Mingus) 4:08
- ‘Round Midnight (T.Sphere Monk) 8:33
- The Wedding (A.Ibrahim) 3:14
To order and buy:
http://www.moonlightrecords.com/prodotto/spiritual/
http://www.hmv.co.jp/artist_Alessandro-Castelli-Rudy-Fantin_000000000721808/item_Spiritual_8070779
https://www.musicstore.sm/cat0_12388_13239/cd/variousaudio/p716834-spiritual.php
Photographer: Alvaro Belloni
Graphix: Alessandra Marchetto
Label: Music Center