Stefano Di Battista La Musica Insieme

Even when music is notated relatively precisely, as in music, a performer must make many decisions because the notation does not specify all elements of the music. The process of deciding how to perform music that has been previously composed and notated is called "interpretation". Interpretations of the same piece of music by different performers can be very different in terms of the tempos chosen, the style of playing or singing, or the phrasing of the melodies. Composers and songwriters who perform their own music interpret their songs in the same way as those who perform the music of others. The standard choices and techniques available at a particular time and place are referred to as performance practice, while interpretation generally refers to the individual choices of a performer.

The Italian saxophonist pays tribute to the great Ennio Morricone, who passed away last summer. The album features Morricone’s most famous works (Once Upon a Time in America, The Mission, The Great Silence etc.) as well as an unpublished song dedicated to Stefano, who had the chance to work with the Maestro in his later years.
Ennio Morricone’s film music provides an infinite treasure trove of creative thinking, associated with the most varied of images. It is also extremely versatile, just waiting to be delved into, reworked and rediscovered - his compositions would still be equally enjoyable and perfectly recognisable performed by a Bulgarian choir or a quintet of ocarinas. But throwing jazz into the mix takes things to a whole new level, creating what feels like a perfect match, a natural, perhaps even inevitable partnership…

Ennio Morricone’s film music provides an infinite treasure trove of creative thinking, associated with the most varied of images. It is also extremely versatile, just waiting to be delved into, reworked and rediscovered – his compositions would still be equally enjoyable and perfectly recognizable performed by a Bulgarian choir or a quintet of ocarinas. But throwing jazz into the mix takes things to a whole new level, creating what feels like a perfect match, a natural, perhaps even inevitable partnership. This stems in part from a distinctive feature of Morricone’s music: it places highly emotional melodies within a texture of intelligent harmonies, and jazz does exactly the same, particularly in the hands of someone like Stefano Di Battista.

Virtuosos proven and deemed, not to this directory that these two heavyweights gathered here. With this album, Stefano Di Battista and Sylvain Luc revisit the film music by sharing their inspiration generated from their homes by the original versions. On some songs, the subjects expressed are clearly identifiable in others, they are suggested by bit, a few notes that can recognize a work in seconds. And the magic happens. Sylvain and Stefano had fun like kids who are forbidden nothing, they took pleasure is sincere and palpable, it reflects on all of the album which is also found Daniele Sorrentino on bass and bass and Pierre-Francois Dufour on drums and cello.

Un Di Battista dal multiforme ingegno, parafrasando Omero, in veste di leader, sassofonista sia soprano che contralto e compositore di quasi tutti i brani di "Trouble Shootin'". Brani influenzati dai giganti del passato (Cannonball e il Duca su tutti), com'e giusto che sia, ma mai scontati o al sapor di "gia sentito". La creativita del sassofonista romano si fa sentire sin dalla prima traccia, "I Will Love You", per poi esplodere in pezzi come "Under Her Spell" (intesa perfetta tra sax e tromba) e "Alexanderplatz Blues", in onore di uno dei locali piu cari a Stefano. Solo tre le cover, omaggi a Bobby Timmons, Kenny Burrell e Horace Silver, cover (tanto per restare in sintonia col resto del disco) decisamente interessanti.

Blue Note's French division released Stefano Di Battista's debut, A Prima Vista, in 1998, but this self-titled disc is the alto and soprano saxophonist's first offering to be made available in the U.S. It comes on the heels of a high-profile guest appearance on Jacky Terrasson's A Paris… and, fittingly, Di Battista hired his friend Terrasson to be the pianist on his own record. Also present for the session are bassist Rosario Bonaccorso and drum legend Elvin Jones, with trumpeter Flavio Boltro sitting in on three tracks. Di Battista evinces a true melodic gift on pieces such as "Elvin's Song" and "Your Romance," but he's also capable of burning it up in a manner reminiscent of Kenny Garrett on "Nico's Dream" and "Adderley." (For those who suspect Elvin Jones' chops have lessened with age, the two latter cuts ought to dispel such notions.)

Over the years, Stefano di Battista has cultivated the extraordinary virtuosity and generosity that now marks him out as one of the most talked about musicians on the international scene in the last decade. This one-of-a-kind musician-composer has long been keen on paying tribute to the exceptional women whose existence has left its mark on the twentieth century, hence his project "Woman’s land". In this work, Stefano di Battista tells the story in music of Italian actress Anna Magnani, American singer Ella Fitzgerald, Russian astronaut Valentina Tereskova and French designer Coco Chanel. The opening of the 11th Festival sees Stefano di Battista presenting exclusively as a quintet this new album, his seventh as leader in his field.