MARTINI Jacopo
I Nuvoli - Jazz Manouche

Fy 8095


Dunya Records
Italia

 

Florentine guitarist, Jacopo Martini fell in love with manouche music when, during a trip to France in 2000, he was introduced to the world of the gypsy guitarists with whom he played and studied gypsy guitar phrasing. His sessions with Matcho Winterstein and Angelo Debarre had a profound impact on his style, as did the playing of the great Django Reinhardt, who remains the reference for all jazz guitarists.

Jacopo Martini’s latest album initiates with the teachings of the great guitarist, whom any self-respecting guitarist will necessarily use as a measuring stick, and the need for a new, original, interpretation of the present—one that will, if possible, also remain relevant for some time into the future—to break with the usual slavish imitations of the canon, without going so far as to produce a mishmash of genres.
Jacopo Martini prefers to evoke rather than recreate Django Reinhardt’s sonority and it is no coincidence that he has composed most of the pieces himself, other than his rendition of Sweet Georgia Brown, a rearrangement of a piece by Becaud, and a couple of Reinhardt pieces (including the very famous Nuages).
In conjunction with a group of trusted and highly expert musicians who feature here and there throughout the album, Jacopo Martini has produced a mature, solid work that successfully incorporates jazz and a delicate Mediterranean feel into the manouche base. Antonello Salis features on the accordion, Nico Gori on clarinet, Emanuele Parrini on the violin, Francesco Federici also on the guitar, Nicola Vernuccio on the double bass and Ian Dapreda on the vibes. Their contribution is perfectly in-tune with the tone of the album—never excessive, technically flawless and wonderfully expressive.
The sound that permeates the album has a dual soul. An apparently fragile, delicate structure conceals a density and artistic substance of a rare intensity. The traditionalist imprint of the underlying framework is respected scrupulously. It is not until you dig deeper and seek out the shading and details that the incredible refinement and wonderful experimentalism of this thoroughly enjoyable album become apparent.