GIOVANNI GUIDI “AVEC LE TEMPS“

Giovanni Guidi Avec le temps Giovanni Guidi: piano; Thomas Morgan: double bass; João Lobo: drums; Francesco Bearzatti: tenor saxophone; Roberto Cecchetto: guitar ECM 2604 CD 6025 7706280 3 Release: 22. MARCH 2019 Giovanni Guidi is one of the most consistently creative pianists in Europe today, focussing inspirations from contemporary jazz and free playing in a strongly lyrical approach of his own. As well as composing his own material, he has a discerning ear for pieces his group might adapt. The new album begins with an extraordinary interpretation of a yearning song of love and loss by the Monaco-born poet-composer-chansonnier Léo Ferré (1916-1993). The melody and atmosphere of Ferré’s “Avec Le Temps”, one of the classics of the French chanson repertoire, are explored in new detail by Guidi and bassist Thomas Morgan. Of Morgan Guidi recently noted: “I don’t know if there are other musicians who are so inside the music with every note, who capture everything that’s happening in every moment.” The concentrated soulfulness of the bass playing may put listeners in mind of Charlie Haden’s heyday: Thomas Morgan, too, plays the music not the background. The song’s deep feeling is intensified by João Lobo’s creatively free snare and cymbals, offering fresh colour and texture. Both the title piece here and the closing “Tomasz”, a Guidi original dedicated to the late Tomasz Stanko, take Giovanni’s conception of the art of the trio to the next level, extending the work begun on the critically-praised albums City of Broken Dreams and This Is The Day. Avec le temps also initiates some new departures as Guidi expands his group to quintet size with the addition of saxophonist Francesco Bearzatti and guitarist Roberto Cecchetto for six of the pieces here. The quintet originally toured under the headline Giovanni Guidi Inferno, and while it plainly has the capacity to burn down the house, it also radiates more a more differentiated flame, as needs dictate. Bearzatti and Cecchetto are strikingly original and resourceful musicians, both leaders in their own right. Bearzatti is one of the outstanding saxophonists of his generation in Italy. Anchored in the tradition – he studied with, among others, George Coleman – he also pushes into areas of pure sound exploration, and is conceptually open-minded; his own discography including tributes to, for instance, Malcolm X and to Woody Guthrie. Latterly, Bearzatti and Giovanni Guidi have also been playing together in duo. Like Guidi himself, guitarist Roberto Cecchetto has played extensively with Enrico Rava. Cecchetto was for eight years a core member of Rava’s Electric Five group. His own leader dates include recordings with Guidi and with Bearzatti, and he has worked with very many distinguished players including Gianluigi Trovesi, Lee Konitz, Kenny Wheeler, Roswell Rudd, Stefano Bollani and more. Thomas Morgan’s sensitive work with Tomasz Stanko, David Virelles, Masabumi Kikuchi, Craig Taborn, Jakob Bro, Bill Frisell, and many more has been widely-acclaimed. In the Guidi group he is well-matched by drummer João Lobo, who similarly brings deep listening to every performance. Collectively, the quintet is ready to deal with the challenges of the most diverse material, from the bluesy cast of “15th of August”, to the group creation “No Taxi” which is reminiscent of some of Ornette Coleman’s themes, to the tender lullaby “Ti Stimo”, and the free-flowing ballad “Caino”, which draws forth some beautiful playing by Guidi and Bearzatti. As a whole, Avec le temps proposes a fascinating journey over changing terrain. Giovanni Guidi, born in Foligno, near Perugia, in 1985, was launched on the international stage in the groups of Enrico Rava. After being struck by the focused intensity of the young pianist’s playing during the summer courses of Siena Jazz, Rava invited him into his band. Guidi, who was 17 years old when he first played with the trumpeter, appears with Rava on the ECM albums Tribe and Rava On The Dance Floor. In addition to Giovanni Guidi’s recordings with Thomas Morgan and João Lobo, the pianist can be heard on Ida Lupino, with Gianluca Petrella, Gerald Cleaver and Louis Sclavis, which was voted Italian jazz album of the year in Musica Jazz. Avec le temps was recorded at Studios La Buisonne in Pernes-les-fontaines in the south of France in November 2017, and produced by Manfred Eicher. As with City of Broken Dreams and This Is The Day, the cover painting is by Emmanuel Barcilon, whose delicate yet intense colour-fields provide an apt visual metaphor for the musical poetry of Giovanni Guidi. ► You can order the album and listen through this link: