Rosario Giuliani : More than Ever (2005)
Personnel
Benjamin Henocq - drums
Rosario Giuliani - soprano saxophone, alto saxophone
Remi Vignolo - double bass
Also: Jean-Michel Pilc (Piano), Richard Galliano (accordion)
Traks
1 More Than Ever
2 Seven Thoughts
3 Dream House
4 I Remember Astor
5 J.F.
6 Mr. R.G.
7 Suite et Poursuite I, II, III
8 Monsieur Martin
9 London By Night
10 Bianco E Nero
In his handful of releases stateside prior to this disc, Rosario Giuliani, a youngish Italian alto and soprano player, always displayed monster chops, great timing, and a rather staid bop/post bop/hard bop jazz vocabulary. And not much more.
All that changes here. Refining the Jackie McLean/Phil Woods balls-to-the-wall approach, he's as likely here to go for a skewed, skitterish phrase as pound the metal to the floor. But perhaps the biggest difference is the overall musical context into which he's chosen to situate himself. It was a great decision to bring pianist Jean-Michel Pilc on board for half the numbers, and nearly as great to have Richard Galliano on accordion for just about the other half (they play together on one selection).
Pilc is fast becoming one of the stellar jazz pianists of his generation, right up there with Brad Mehldau and Jacky Terrasson. Here his technique dazzles and coruscates as he pulls off one impossible passage after another, all squarely within the tune's vibe. Blessed with a spectacular sense of rhythm, he dances, spins, stutter-steps, stops, and starts, all the while painting a brilliant soundscape. His athletic pianisms jolt Giuliani out of his boppish comfort zone and goad him into some very deft, pleasing, and sophisticated solos.
Galliano works similar but slightly different magic. His playing, coming from some ur-folk place, has so much depth of richness and emotion as to be almost overwhelming. He educes a poignancy and heartfelt character out of Giuliani that I've never heard from him before. Both Pilc and Galliano seem completely into the vibe here, and both produce some of their finest playing on record.
As for the leader, as sometimes happens, he seems to have suddenly, overnight, come completely into his own distinct voice. There's a freedom and loose-limbedness in his playing where it used to be slightly pinched and restricted. He still retains that slightly sour sound favored by many modern altoists, but he's found a much greater range of expression and emotion, as well as a richer timbre, in this latest outing.
A note about the rhythm section. Drummer Benjamin Henocq plays his butt off, deploying apposite world percussive, post-bop, and polyrhythmic stylings, and generally manhandling his kit in an entirely convincing display of controlled drumming pyrotechnics. And Remi Vignolo on double bass acquits himself admirably.
An entirely satisfying outing, marking a huge advance in the career of Rosario Giuliani.
