Review Text
FIVE MINUTES BEFORE is an attempt to delineate a descriptive course emulating the fervid work of special correspondents operating in the midst of armed conflicts.The limited time these journalists have to write articles and dispatch news translates here into brief melodic fragments, alternated by ample tracts of the clearly modal kind, the latter alluding to the mad heroes of the printed word whose crude testimony endures cruel editingNOTTURNO is a 14-measure blues with 2 measures in three-quarter time, a cockeyed form that, when first heard, leaves the listener unperturbed, perhaps in the same way that more distracted listeners remain undisturbed by news broadcast by the mass mediaL'ANIMA DELL'ANGELO is a gentle and enigmatic composition in 3/4 time, with a vaguely nostalgic theme dedicated to the memory of Enzo BiagiDOMANDE NUDE is a distillation of harmonic and melodic suspensions, in a sort of unfinished form, which seeks to describe what the investigation into the tragic death of journalist Ilaria Alpi came up with - a lot of question marksLE CONTRADIZIONI DEL SEME is an homage to Roberto Saviano, whose work has courageously documented the malaise of his birthplace. Often prompting the hatred of his own people, he has, nevertheless, today become an emblematic symbol of investigative journalism. This piece, with it's classic form of "rhythm changes", contains, instead, harmonic material that twists along an uncommon chromatic path, ultimately negating the composition's own formFRAGMENTS is a piece with a double dedication. The first is a stylistic nod to jazz bassist Dave Holland; the second, relevant to the focus of the whole CD, is an ironic tribute to "awkward truths", or the news often summed up in a few lines found on page 5 or 6 of any good newspaperTI VEDO, is a delicate ballad, it, too, bearing a double dedication. The first dedication, biographical, is to my companion Giuliana; the second, in keeping with this musical tribute, wishes to pay homage to the memory of Anna Politkovskaya, a small commemoration for a great woman, forgotten much too soonJUMPING is an exuberant piece inspired by the ironic ways in which journalist Michael Moore manages to document even the most inconvenient truthsREMEMBER is a subtle composition by Gianmarco Scaglia, particularly suitable for this CD due to the suggestive traits of it's theme. The impression of something already heard, together with it's simple form, remind me somehow of the rigor and integrity of one of the fathers of Italian journalism, Indro Montanelli.
