DANIELE CAVALLANTI A WORLD OF SOUND “A Wall of Sound”

ARTIST

Daniele Cavallanti A World of Sound

ALBUM TITLE

“A Wall of Sound”

LABEL

Felmay

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Through both his own projects and his long-standing ensemble Nexus, founded with Tiziano Tononi, Daniele Cavallanti has consistently upheld the values of the African American avant-garde. This quartet, active since 2013, fully reaffirms that commitment. Its formation recalls Ornette Coleman’s classic quartet – think of the seminal recordings New York Is Now! and Crisis, where Coleman was joined by Dewey Redman, a central influence on Cavallanti. It is no coincidence, then, that the album closes with “Street Woman,” originally featured on Coleman’s Science Fiction. Here Cavallanti’s tenor takes on a rough, rippled tone, piercing in the upper register over a fluid, generous pedal, while Chiapperini’s darting alto lines weave in and out with spirited contrast.

Another historical reference point is Wayne Shorter’s “Armageddon” and “Charcoal Blues,” both from Night Dreamer, and both steeped in a profound blues feeling. In the first, Chiapperini’s sinuous bass clarinet stands out, clearly evoking Eric Dolphy; in the second, the two reeds state the theme in unison before diverging – the tenor spinning meditative lines at medium tempo while the alto “sings” the blues in long, lyrical phrases.

An unexpected but successful choice is Carla Bley’s “Jesus Maria,” first recorded by Jimmy Giuffre’s trio on Fusion. The airy theme is introduced by the double bass, whose phrasing is spare and deliberate, before being stated by tenor and bass clarinet and then developed through an alternation of contraction and expansion.

The program concludes with two Cavallanti originals rich in explicit references. “S.O.S.” pays tribute to the formidable trio of English saxophonists of that name – Alan Skidmore, Mike Osborne and John Surman – who released their sole eponymous album on Ogun in 1975. Over a repetitive figure punctuated by the bass ostinato, the two saxophones engage in a heated dialogue before each launches into fierce, sharp-edged, and impassioned solos. “Downtown Braxtown,” a playful homage to the Chicago master, is built around a recurring figure over an up-tempo rhythm section, vaguely evoking Braxton’s Five Pieces 1975. The contrast between the alto’s measured, rational phrasing and the tenor’s impetuous surges into the upper register is particularly compelling.

Free of mannerisms, this album demonstrates how one can draw inspiration from an uncodified past and transform it into vibrant, living music.

– Enzo Boddi

DISTRIBUTED BY

felmayrecords.bandcamp.com

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