Daniele di Bonaventura and Arild Andersen
Roots
Tŭk Music, distr. Ducale
Personnel:
Daniele Di Bonaventura (bandoneón), Arild Andersen (bass)
Recorded in Cavalicco, August 8–9, 2022.
The booklet accompanying Roots opens with a quote from Tolstoy: “We only die when we fail to take root in others.” It’s a fitting epigraph for this first collaborative album between Italy’s leading bandoneón specialist, Daniele Di Bonaventura, and Norway’s lyrical double bass master, Arild Andersen.
Their musical partnership began in 2017, often coming together for concerts where their intimate interplay could shine. This collaboration was originally encouraged by the late Paolo Vinaccia—an Italian drummer and percussionist based in Oslo, and a longtime associate of Andersen—who passed away in 2019.
The ten compositions featured on Roots — including two co-written pieces, three by Di Bonaventura (among them the moving L’ultimo addio), and five by Andersen — beautifully illustrate music’s capacity to transcend all boundaries. Despite their differences in age, geography, and background — Di Bonaventura is approaching sixty and hails from Italy’s Marche region; Andersen, soon to turn eighty, is from Norway — their musical affinity feels both profound and deeply organic.
The duo’s sound is one of synthesis and dialogue, marked by restraint, elegance, and evocative depth. Its true strength lies in their attentive listening and the effortless emergence of a lyricism that never falls into predictability. The album’s standout moment may well be Dreamhorse, Andersen’s hypnotic composition, also featured as a solo piece on his recent ECM release Landloper, where layered bass lines are paired here with Di Bonaventura’s ethereal improvisations.
In short, Roots offers a magical convergence of Argentina and the Hyperborean North, with the Mediterranean as its quiet bridge. The superb work of Stefano Amerio behind the recording desk adds an additional layer of richness, allowing us to hear the full “grain of the voice” of both instruments in intimate detail.
Ivo Franchi
