Matteo Mancusso

This exceptional recording was made using three original instruments that belonged to Paganini himself: the powerful 1743 Guarneri del Gesù violin; a six-string guitar by Ory, Paris, dated 1797; and a magnificent 1736 Stradivari cello, property of the Nippon Music Foundation and entrusted to Clemens Hagen, cellist of the Hagen Quartet. The three instruments are played together for the first time on this release. It was Giulio Plotino who conceived this project and took upon himself the difficult task of reuniting the three instruments. Indeed, this unique recording would not have been possible without him.

“In summer 2021, I moved from Amsterdam to the edge of Holland’s largest nature reserve called ‘Veluwe’. We wanted to live our lives more in peace and nature and were looking for a less hurried life than in the crowded and busy city. During my daily walks in my new area, the idea soon arose to dedicate a new collection of piano compositions to this beautiful forest.

"The evolution of guitar is firmly secure in the hands of these kind of players… it's just a new level, the tone, the touch, the notes!" - Steve Vai

A meeting of four of the greatest talents that Italian jazz has expressed in the last 15 years. This is Reverse Motion, the new album by Alessandro Lanzoni, to be released on 26 July by Jam/Unjam (Universal distribution). The album will be preceded by the pianist's signature track Mad Bog on 19 July. The album is recorded with the trio composed of Matteo Bortone on double bass and Enrico Morello on drums, a line-up that has been accompanying Lanzoni for 12 years after the three had met at Siena Jazz during the International jazz master's experience, with special guest Francesco Cafiso on alto sax. The understanding cemented by Lanzoni's trio over these years is so profound that the 9 previously unreleased tracks, composed mainly by the Tuscan pianist but with contributions from the other musicians, despite their extremely different compositional styles converge in the same direction with a surprising coherence and amalgam of sound.

The album's title track is a chorale-like piano piece, in which the melody occurs in an unorthodox low register, accompanied by high piano notes. The piece is written in the key of D-flat major, which provides a beautiful opening to the entire collection of songs.