Chick Corea & Stefano Bollani-Orvieto (2011)

Chick Corea & Stefano Bollani-Orvieto (2011)

Track Listings

1. Part I. Orvieto Improvisation No. 1

2. Portrait In Black And White

3. If I Should Lose You

4. Doralice

5. Jitterbug Waltz

6. A Valsa da Paula

7. Part II. Orvieto Improvisation No. 2 / Nardis

8. Este Seu Olhar

9. Darn That Dream

10. Tirititran

11. Armando's Rhumba

12. Blues In F

Chick Corea (b. 1941) and Stefano Bollani (b. 1972), the master and the new talent, the American of Sicilian and Spanish descent on one piano, the Italian from Tuscany on the other piano, recorded live in concert at Umbria Jazz Winter in Orvieto, on December 30, 2010. 

A travel into jazz in 75 minutes, from free improvised moments to well-know standards, from original compositions to the blues. Excluding two free improvisations (Orvieto Improvisation N.1 and Orvieto Improvisation N.2) that work as introductory pieces, tempi are mostly fast. Still, there is a sort of laidback approach, with the music coming out very naturally, without any apparent effort. Both pianists have huge technical abilities, yet their virtuosity is here always focused to just one goal, produce beautiful, lyrical, stylish and sophisticated as well as entertaining music, and never as a show off to impress the listener. If you are after special effects and keyboards on fire, you will be disappointed. If you are after jazz piano music to discover and enjoy more and more at every listening session, then this work should definitely deserve your attention.

The recording quality is excellent as usual from ECM. Not only the two pianos, but all noises during the concert were recorded as well. The first time I was listening this CD on my hi-fi system at a realistic volume I was thinking someone was punching the floor of my apartment from downstairs... luckily that was just the pianists stomping their feet on the stage. Impressing indeed. 

Stefano Bollani: Les Fleurs Bleues (2004)

Stefano Bollani: Les Fleurs Bleues (2004)

Stefano Bollani (Piano)

Scott Colley (Bass)

Clarence Penn (Drums)

This is some of the better jazz out there today! What a great trio! With Stefano Bollani on piano, Scott Colley on bass, and Clarence Penn on drums, you can't go wrong. These musicians are locked tight in the groove for the duration of this recording. Bollani is on top of his game, as he plays incredibly fast licks and incredibly original chord voicings that sound like fire from his fingertips, especially on the tracks which feature solo piano. There are a few well placed ballads on which the group really makes sound tender and delicate, and Bollani even sings on "Si Tu T'Imagines"! Scott Colley and Clarence Penn are world-class musicians, and accompany Bollani beautifully on this set. This is a highly recommended album, too bad it is only available through import. If you are lucky, you'll find it in a bargain bin like I did! Happy Listening...

01 – L’Histoire Qui Avance

02 – Rever et Reveler

03 – Cidrolin

04 – Il Duca

05 – Se Non Avessi Più Te

06 – L’Arca

07 – Bar Biturico

08 – Chippie

09 – Si Tu T’Imagines

10 – Dans Mon Ile

11 – It Could Happen to Queneau

12 – Un Giorno dopo l’Altro

Stefano Bollani: Jazzitaliano live 2006

Stefano Bollani

Jazzitaliano  live 2006

Recorded at the Teatro Lauro Rossi in Macerata and mixed at La Casa del Jazz in Rome, this disc by pianist Stefano Bollani is the ninth of a series of live recordings dedicated to the best of Italian jazz from the Italian magazine L'Espresso. Bollani, a musician, writer and semi-stand up comedian, is at his peak. Only last year, he was named Musician of the Year by Musica Magazine and his ECM CD Piano Solo was awarded Record of the Year.

The full Bollani experience, though, comes when he's on stage, mostly because of his Puck-like spirit whenever there is a piano and an audience. The CD features Bollani in trio with Ares Tavolazzi (bass) and Walter Paoli (drums). The opening piece is the bossa nova-like Bollani original "Eravamo un manipolo di eroi. Here the musicians brilliantly create an embroidery of notes, with the light colors being darkened by the instruments exchanging roles continuously. Also included are other original tunes: "Elena e il suo violino, a ballad he often plays solo, and "Logorio della vita moderna, a tenser piece with a smooth piano release. In "Morph the Cat, a composition by Steely Dan's Donald Fagen, Bollani is the blue cat that appears in different corners of Manhattan. "La puerta, "All The Things You Are, "Moonlight Serenade and "Puttin' on the Ritz are all transformed through Bollani's original touch. The CD closes with a typical Bollani signature: imitating the voices and the musical peculiarities of his colleagues. In "Copacabana he's a perfect Paolo Conte. As Bollani states, "Even Paolo Conte thought it was himself playing. The final joke—understandable only to the Italian speaking crowd—refers to the length of the piece: "This piece lasts 27 more minutes, if you applaud now, we can end it here.

Track Listing: Eravamo un manipolo di eroi; Elena e il suo violino; Morph the Cat; La puerta; Logorio della vita moderne; All The Things You Are; Moonlight Serenade; Puttin' on the Ritz; Copacabana.

Personnel: Stefano Bollani: piano; Ares Tavolazzi: bass; Walter Paoli: drums.

Enrico Rava & Stefano Bollani: The Third Man (2007)

Enrico Rava: Trumpet
Stefano Bollani: Piano

The Third Man (2007)

Track Listings
1. Estate
2. The Third Man
3. Sun Bay
4. Retrato Em Branco Y Preto
5. Birth Of A Butterfly
6. Cumpari
7. Sweet Light
8. Santa Teresa
9. Felipe
10. In Search Of Titina
11. Retrato Em Branco Y Preto
12. Birth Of A Butterfly


Italian improvositionists from both ends of the generational spectrum, Rava and Bollani provide a fluid, highly textured, free-flowing album of trumpet and piano. Of the two, the pedigree comes from Enrico Rava, who was really the first Italian jazz musician to be accepted by the New York jazz establishment. He moved there in the late 1960s, following his recording in 1962 with Gato Barbieri. He went on to record with the likes of Carla Bley, Cecil Taylor, Rashid Ali, Charlie Haden before becoming bandleader himself and is acknowledged as one of Europe's finest musicians - helping to put both Italy and Europe firmly on the jazz map.

Stefano Bollani is the blistering young tyro - born in 1972, he considers Rava to be his mentor and they have worked together over the last 10 years (they released "Tati" with Paul Motian in 2004) following his years of study at the Florence Conservatory.

However, there is no sense in which there is a senior or junior member of this partnership; one of the real joys of this album is just how simpatico these two are. Bollani has technique to burn - listen to his fingers flying across the keys on "Cumpari" which pushes Rava into some pyrotechnics of his own - but in general they both play this album slow and languid. They don't show off to each other or anyone else - one leads where the other follows and although they trade licks throughout, they are very tasteful licks. The more lyrical playing for sure comes from Rava, but it somehow plays both as counterpoint to and yet completely in synch with Bollani's vibrant, flame-grilled technique.

Musicicality and respect are at the heart of this album - respect for each other and respect for the traditions. Slow, contemplative yet also sometimes forceful and edgy, there is much to admire and wonder at, whether their own compositions, their improvised playing or the covers which include a variation of Jobim's "Retrato Em Branco Y Preteo".

Another great addition to the ECM canon. --Guy Hayden

Stefano Bollani - Piano Solo (2006)

Stefano Bollani - Piano Solo (2006)


I listen to a lot of jazz piano. By now rarely does anything make me really, I mean really, sit up and listen. But this one did.
A lot of jazz piano, especially ensemble work, is relatively monodynamic, hovering around the mezzo and rarely troubling itself with subtlety or nuance. This guy, however, has a gift for touch that is rare in jazz. He can turn on a sixpence, and possesses a lightness and sinuous agility that is refreshing. Plus a real gift for invention and sylistic pick-and-mix. Some of these harmonies should be illegal.
If you want something muscular and straight ahead, then this won't be for you. But if you want a feeling of a recital in an intimate venue ( that's ECM for you...) then you won't be disappointed. His version of Maple Leaf Rag is worth the price alone. Deconstructed, disassembled and delightful.

1     Antonia
2     Impro I
3     Impro II
4     Impro On A Theme By Sergei Prokofiev
5     For All We Know
6     Promenade
7     Impro III
8     Media Luz
9     Impro IV
10     Buzzillare
11     Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans
12     Como Fue
13     On The Street Where You Live
14     Maple Leaf Rag
15     Sarcasmi