Do you remember that era during the
1960s when Blue Note Records was putting on the market albums of
musicians such as Sam Rivers and Bobby Hutcherson? It was a 'third
wave' between classical jazz and free improvisation. Now, thanks to
Caligola Record, we can breath not the same music, but the same
temperatures.
Pianist Giorgio Occhipinti, born in
1969, boasts collaborations with the likes of Evan Parker, Joelle
Léandre, Ernst Reijseger, Paul Rutherford, Barre Phillips, and Peter
Brotzmann. He started playing piano and flute with his father's band.
Occhipinti was part of one of the hystorical groups of Sicilian jazz,
the December Thirty Jazz Trio (1989) and since 1992 he collaborated
with the Pino Minafra Sud Ensemble.
In 1993 Occhipinti created the Festival
Ibleo del Jazz becoming its artistic director. In the same year he
foundet a nonet (Giorgio Occhipinti Hereo Nonetto) that took many
forms in the following years: octet, orchestra, and so on. In 2000 he
took part in the Banlieue Bleues Quartet with Pino Minafra, Sandro
Satta and Vincenzo Mazzone.
 |
| Giorgio Occhipinti |
The musician that seems to me more
similar to Giorgio Occhipinti is Matthew Shipp. Not for his open,
ascendent chords (Occhipinti is less mysthic an more gentle), but
because of a quality in improvisation and interplay. Luckily enough
his new record, 'Chapter Two' by the group Less of Five (featuring
Gianpiero Fronte on alto and soprano saxophone, Giuseppe Guarrella on
double bass, and Emmanuele Primavera on drums) provides us with two
long compositions, 'Orange's Smell' and 'Breathing New York's air'
that are more than ten minutes long, leaving us with a flavour that
is connected to free improvisation, even if the music is softer.
The other six pieces, from 3 to 6
minutes long, are miniatures of melody and improvisation. The effect
in listening to this record is that of a music that doesn't want to
be caged in a precise definition, a music that loves to take you by
the hand and wonder into new landscapes, even if quite often the
flavour of blues is strong, as in the track 'Expression' . Highly
recommended to all the lovers of free improvisation, but not only.
