Giorgio Gaslini Quartetto “Live” – Murales – Dischi della Quercia Q 28001

Here is one of my favourite Gaslini’s recording and, in my opinion, one of the best of the ’70 no only in European jazz. Giorgio Gaslini, has been, without any doubt, one of the most important musicians in modern jazz in Italy (I think in Europe too) and the one who gave an invaluable contribution to the growth of jazz knowledge in Italy, both from a theorical and a technical point of view. He has been the first in Italy who teached jazz music in an accademical place it happened in 1972 at the Conservatorio di S. Cecilia in Rome. But It’ almost impossible to summarize here Gaslini’s story and his contribution to the growth of Italian musical culture. Piano player, composer for movies (about 40 soundtracks amongst which the Michelangelo Antonioni score for “La Notte” is undoubtedly a masterpiece), jazz and classical music composer and player, teacher, fine theorist, writer, political activist…

Excerpt from the cover notes (traslated from italian)

“Murales” is a Suite for quartet (piano, alto sax, bass and drums) in four movements. The general feeling of the suite is amongst the epical and the lirycal.

But I’m such an enemy of labels and of all the misunderstandings and outbursts to which they give rise, that I prefer let the audience, to which this music is dedicated, to think what they want.

The first three movements were performed for the first time at the “Italian Jazz New Trends Festival” organized in the Main Hall of the Milano’s State University by the Student’s Movement with a resounding outcome.in 1975 november the 30^th.

The fourth movement was born a litte later for the concert-play named “Murales” on stage in Rome at the “Teatro delle Arti” (Arts’ Theater) in 1975 january the fifth.

In this last occasion the suite has been played in it’s entirety and recorded live: so it’s where come from the music here contained.

During the following three years “Murales” was played by the same original quartet in about 250 concerts all over Italy, so becoming the symbol of the whole new musical wave that was growing with the new generations. Essential, this time again, has been the contribution of my three wonderful workmate: Gianni, Bruno and Andrea.

But most important of all has been the truthful contribution of thousand of new young listeners in the whole Italy. Taking part, in these years, to the concerts the contribute to create, with us, the atmosphere, the meaning and the shape of the music of our quartet.

Giorgio Gaslini

Excerpts from Andrea Centazzo’s book: Musician Withoud Boundaries

Section II -. Music At Last

Centazzo's remarkable debut with the Quartetto Gaslini took place on the 23rd of November 1973 al the Piccolo Scala in Milan. Gaslini had chosen this concert to introduce his new concept for making music: the Total Music Concert. Gaslini explained, "Mine is a different way of conceiving music, it's more open, it takes in a whole series of experiments. It is the passing from a sectorial musical mentality to one that is completely open to the totality of possibilities available."

A chorus of approval greeted Centazzo in this first phase of his career as percussionist. "He has brought new energy and freshness to the music of the group His druniming presents remarkable characteristics, and wholly personal traits He has brought to the percussion of the quartet a variety, an opening to a new and very pertinent dimension.”

Important album recordings were added to this touring activity in Italy; Concerto della Resistenza, Concerto della Libertà and Murales were released in the space of just two years.

The '70s in Italy (and Europe, in general) were times of extreme political tension charged with subversion, terrorism and bombings. Looking back at those times, Centazzo remarks on how demagogic it was to have played that type of music in those situations, where the public, although always numerous, was present for politicalmotives rather than from any real desire to hear the music itself.

"Unfortunately the experience with Giorgio Gaslini came to a traumatic end, leaving me with a bitter taste in my mouth. This was truly a shame, since for me it was an exciting period musically and not simply because of the very essence of the music (which, in my opinion was the best that Gaslini has written in his long creative life). As is often the case, it wasn't the musical differences that divided us but personality conflicts. Effectively the age difference continually brought us to an unresolved father-son conflict, which went beyond the purely musical considerations to invade the everyday aspects of our lives. In final analysis, Giorgio wanted to recapture the classic values of jazz: the theme, melody, swing, four-four scansion; whereas I was going through a period of considerable cultural and political unease and wanted to get as far away from these things as possible. Giorgio was aiming to reconstruct the music and I, in turn, to disintegrate it."

Andrea Centazzo

Links:
http://www.giorgiogaslini.it/en/biografia.html
http://www.andreacentazzo.com/Books/book02.html
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:3ifixqu5ldae~T1

Readings:
http://www.giorgiogaslini.it/libri.phpò

An important annotation: the Gaslini’s jazz legacy has been partially re-issued in its entirety (Integrale- Antologia Cronologica) by the Soul Note label (recently bought by Italian CAM Records). The Integrale consists in a series of double cd. At this moment the last album re-issued (Vol. 7 & 8) is “Colloquio con Malcolm X- a musical action” originally publishe on PDU.

Murales, recorded in 1976, will certainly be, perhaps in the next months, in the next double album. For this reason I’ve decided to let the links active for only two weeks. I apologize but this seemed to me the only possible way to post this amazing music. Enjoy it!

Links in comments as soon as possible.