Renato

The double album collects the thirty-two songs, over two hours of music from Renato Zero's concert, last summer at the Arena di Verona.

The double album collects the thirty-two songs, over two hours of music from Renato Zero's concert, last summer at the Arena di Verona.

The award-winning duo of flautist Silvia Schiaffino and guitarist Renato Procopio present a musical travelogue ranging from Western to Eastern Europe before journeying further afield to Japan, Iran and Korea. As well as masterpieces such as Bartók’s Romanian Folk Dances, and a rip-roaring Monti Csárdás, this evocative selection includes the colourful and piquant, such as the music of Sakura, as well as Procopio’s own vibrant arrangement of Korean folk songs.

The award-winning duo of flautist Silvia Schiaffino and guitarist Renato Procopio present a musical travelogue ranging from Western to Eastern Europe before journeying further afield to Japan, Iran and Korea. As well as masterpieces such as Bartók’s Romanian Folk Dances, and a rip-roaring Monti Csárdás, this evocative selection includes the colourful and piquant, such as the music of Sakura, as well as Procopio’s own vibrant arrangement of Korean folk songs.

The music of Thelonious Monk has long attracted musicians as fertile ground for improvisation, but Italian pianist Renato Sellani approached it in a very different manner. Choosing nine of Monk's most popular works, he tackled them as piano solos, emphasizing their inherent (but often overlooked) lyricism rather than turn them into show pieces for flashy arrangements. As a result, the listener is rewarded with Sellani's journey through these very familiar tunes, as the pianist retains the humor within many of them (though it is a bit more subtle); he gets more frisky with a brief, flashy introduction to "Monk's Dream" before settling down. There are two takes of "Ruby, My Dear" which both merited inclusion, while a second take of "'Round Midnight" adds tenor saxophonist Gianni Basso and trumpeter Fabrizio Bosso as the session's sole guests for a dramatic trio performance…