Fabrizio Tonello

One of the acid tests to evaluate jazz musicians is to put them into a duo setting. This all-Gershwin program, pairing veteran pianist Renato Sellani and a rising young star, Fabrizio Bosso, who doubles on trumpet and flugelhorn, succeeds with flying colors. Since most (if not all) of this music is already very well known to jazz fans, the duo has their work cut out for them to find new approaches to each song. "The Man I Love" combines Bosso's virtuoso flügelhorn (including an incredible unaccompanied coda) and Sellani's spacious, understated accompaniment to produce a masterful interpretation. "Oh, Lady be Good!" is one of the most familiar pieces in the jazz canon, but their marvelous, playful, and subtle introduction builds up the tension before they finally switch to a more typical tempo…

With the present release of this Donizettian masterpiece, recorded live in 2001, Dynamic makes an historic move, becoming the first Italian label to produce a DVD opera. This very high quality production by Teatro Donizetti di Bergamo features, in the roles of the two queens, Carmela Remigio (Maria Stuarda) and Sonia Ganassi (Elisabetta), two great artists here making a fine display of their excellent vocal and acting skills. Francesco Esposito’s direction and costumes, and Italo Grassi’s sets are very effective and superbly highlighted by the filming. What makes the release even more interesting is the use of a new critical edition made by the renowned Swedish musicologist Anders Wiklund for Casa Ricordi.

The trumpet has a curious fate. On the one hand, it is one of the oldest instruments created by humankind, and, with its many variants (in shape, matter, size and sound) it is found in most cultures through time and space. On the other hand, its standing as a solo instrument has been recognized only relatively recently in Western music, although the twentieth century saw a sudden and magnificent flowering of solo works for this instrument, not only in the classical repertoire but also in a wide range of other musical styles.

For his 1981 eponymous release Fabrizio De André picks off where his last album Rimini had left. Pursuing the fruitful collaboration with Massimo Bubola, with whom De André co-wrote the totality of the material, this album extends the country & western musical and thematic references introduced in Rimini into a full-blown analogy between two oppressed communities, the Native American Indians and the Sardinians. In fact, the record is usually referred to as "Indiano," since its cover features a Frederick Remington painting of a Sioux hunter on a horse. In addition, the key track " "Fiume Sand Creek" depicts the harrowing massacre of his tribe at the hands of the U.S. Cavalry through the eyes of an Indian child. Based on an actual historical event, this song became a De André concert staple…