© -
Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.
"I listen to this music with a
smile on my face. I've know Paolo for a while now. When he came to me for a
lesson or two, I recognized his talent at once... a diamond in the rough. Since
then, we've crossed paths several times. Usually at a festival or club where we
were able to catch up with each other between sets. But it had been a while
since I'd actually heard him play.
Last summer I had the good fortune to
finally hear him a couple of times at the Tuscia in Jazz festival and was
astounded by how much he had grown. When teaching, I always talk about how
learning jazz is like learning a new language... a lot of memorizing and
imitating. I also talk about the difference between being an artist or a
craftsman. Most musicians reach a level where they are good imitators and
craftsman... this is not an easy task, it requires a lot of patience,
discipline and dedication. There are a few however, who take it to the next
level by transforming the information they've assimilated into a language and
sound of their own. Paolo belongs to the second category.
When I heard him last
summer, I found myself asking myself "what was that?" over and over
again; wishing I had a tape recorder so I could go back and transcribe and
analyze what he had played. I loved the fact that I heard the tradition...
blues, swing, humor... along side of the modern language that any saxophone
player since Coltrane, Ornette, Wayne etc... has had to address. I was also
flattered because I heard a little of me in him... not a copy but an influence.
He had taken what I had taught him and then digested and transformed it. The
music on this recording is a beautiful example of Paolo's playing and writing.
I know by experience how difficult it is to go into a recording studio for one
solo recording. It is a very unnatural and surreal situation. When listening, I
was impressed by how relaxed and natural he sounded. I kept asking myself the
question "if this is what he can do now, what will he come up with
next?" I look forward to listening to him grow and develop. I invite you
to do the same.""
In addition to
being the country whose food everyone loves to eat, whose cars everyone loves
to drive and whose clothes everyone loves to wear, Italy
I’ve talked
previously on these pages about Gianluigi Trovesi, Rosario Giuliani, Stefano di Battista and Francesco Cafiso – all excellent performers on the smaller
saxophone.
Now the name –
Paolo Recchia – can be added to the list of elite also saxophonists from
Italia.
Like his
compatriots, Giuliani and di Battista, Recchia doubles on soprano saxophone
[Trovesi doubles on bass clarinet; Francesco doesn’t double].
And while Paolo’s
style is rooted in the Bebop idioms first introduced on the alto by Charlie
Parker, he incorporates elements of Eric Dolphy and Ornette Coleman from what
was to later become categorized as “Free Jazz.”
Somewhat
amazingly, however, in Recchia’s approach to alto, one can also hear elements
of the Early Jazz, “sweet” sound of
Benny Carter, Jimmy Dorsey, Woody Herman, Charlie Barnet and Les Brown – all
alto saxophonists who played the instrument with more vibrato rather than the
straight, vibrato-less tone preferred by Parker and the “modernists.”
Hip bebop
phrasing, coupled with a full, rich vibrato tone that’s occasionally spiced
with the explorative concepts of Free Jazz combine to create the original alto
sax stylings of Paolo Recchia.
Put another way;
you’ve never heard this before. It’s
familiar and different at the same time.
These
characteristics of Paolo’s style are particularly noticeable in the following
video on which Paolo plays Rodgers & Hart’s Everything I’ve Got accompanied only by Nicola Muresu on bass and
Nicola Angelucci on drums.
The track is from
Paolo’s latest CD on Matteo Pagano’s Via Veneto Jazz label entitled Ari’s
Desire [VVJ 071].
Trumpeter Alex
“Sasha” Sipiagin joins Paolo on all the other selections on Ari’s
Desire. With Recchia moving to soprano, here’s a sample of Paolo and
Sasha together on Coltrane’s Lazy Bird.
Both Ari’s
Desire [VVJ 071] and his earlier Introducing Paolo Recchia [featuring
Dado Moroni VVJ 061] can be located on the Via Veneto Jazz website as well as
on Amazon.com as mp3 downloads.
Perhaps Paolo’s
music is something else that you may want to consider “importing” from Italy
