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| New live project Al Di Meola-Andrea Parodi: Armentos The great electric jazz meets Andrea Parodi's voice. Al Di Meola, one of the most virtuous jazz guitarists in the world – one of the main rock-jazz musicians of 70s and 80s, right-hand musician of Chick Corea in Return To Forever, became famous with the album “Friday Night in San Francisco” with Paco De Lucia and John Mc Laughlin- he continues on his recent way of “fusion” between jazz and etno-world music. After a few months from his last CD release with another virtuous of acoustic guitar, the Russian Leonid Agutin – jumped to the first places of the hit parades in Germany and other Countries - Di Meola faces an ethnic trend that in some way belongs to him: the Italian one. Son of Italian people, the guitarist turns his art to Sardinia, one of the few lands which keeps its deep musical traditions alive, and compares them with modern sounds. The Sardinian-Ligurian singer Andrea Parodi, ex leader of the ethno-pop group “Tazenda”, for a long time has been promoting a Mediterranean music culture manifesto, by singing in his own language – Sardinian - the most beautiful popular melodies of Sardinia and Mediterranean, and by collaborating with jazz musicians among the best ones the Italian and international panorama. His last artistic production takes place just together with Al Di Meola. This is Armentos, it means “flocks”, and the theme is the migratory movements. The collaboration between Parodi and Di Meola was born two years ago in Seui (Sardinia-Italy) when they were on the same stage in a concert against nuclear slags in the island; during the sound-check, Al Di Meola was impressed and moved from the voice and the language of Andrea Parodi, so he invited Parodi in a duet with him, and it happened during the concert in the song “La Maza” of the Cuban Silvio Rodriguez. 2004, S. Maria Navarrese Andrea Parodi and Al Di Meola made their debut with the original project “Armentos” last year on 3rd August in a concert “number zero” in Santa Maria Navarrese during the prestigious festival “Rocce Rosse & Blues 2004”, as original production of the festival. “Armentos” was born from a friendship and became artistic fellowship and musical project, in which Andrea Parodi, who is the greatest representative of Sardinian and Mediterranean culture, involved some of the best jazz and world musicians from Sadinia and from Italy: Gianluca Corona (electric guitar), Gavino Murgia (sax, launeddas, sulittu, bassu, duduk, ethnical instruments; Sardinian musician ed ethno-musicologist, at the moment he is the one who brings the Sardinian instruments and identity all over the world, among the most prestigious ethno-jazz festivals), Roberto Dani (drums), and Ammentos Trio: Peo Alfonsi (classic guitar), Fausto Beccalossi (accordion), and Salvatore Maiore (contrabass). Finally there is the prestigious Cuban percussionist Gumbi Ortiz together with Al Di Meola. Andrea Parodi’s voice intertwines through polished atmospheres with exemplary musicians who express themselves in an acoustic plan rich of contaminations, from ethnic and popular music to jazz. The dominant theme, as the name suggests, is “flocks”, symbol of the continuous migration and movement that has always concerned animals, people, and the protagonists themselves of the production: Al Di Meola, American man of Italian origins, Andrea Parodi, famous Sardinian-Ligurian artist who sings the spirit of Sardinia. This migration becomes on the stage a mutual exchange of styles and languages between musicians. The show is made up of some pieces written for the production, as the same “Armentos”, song that was born from the renewed collaboration between Parodi and the guitarist of Tazenda, Gino Marielli; then “Temporadas”, already recorded with Elena Ledda, and written in collaboration with the poet Michele Pio Ledda (already involved in the writing of other songs together with Parodi for the album “Abacada”), then there is a series onf intense instrumental moments, and finally “A Foua”, a tender tale in Ligurian language written from Parodi in memory of his father, and dedicated to his little daughter Antea. Moreover in the production they will be the re-interpretation, together with Al Di Meola, of some pieces among Parodi’s album “AbacadA” (for example “Efix” and “Astrolicamus”); some pieces taken from Parodi’s musical plan “Terracuza To” and some from his production “Ninneh” (for example “Umbras”, “Amargura”). There will be “La Maza” of course, that is the piece through which Parodi and Di Meola started their collaboration in Seui; “No Potho Reposare”, the most appreciated love song of Sardinian popular tradition, and a homage to Simon&Garfunkel will not miss. Finally there will be the new performance of Di Meola’s “Infinite Desire”, taken from the homonymous album, there interpreted by the Italian singer Pino Daniele, now rewritten for the occasion in Sardinian language in four hands by Andrea Parodi and Gino Marielli. 2005 –EUROPEAN TOUR - “Armentos” had its full live realization in the 2005 tour “Al Di Meola - Andrea Parodi” in some European concerts. The first one took place in the Liric Theatre of Cagliari in 22nd June, then it touched the most prestigious European ethno-jazz festivals, among them the International Opera Festival “Bartok + Bel Canto 2005, Miskolc” (Hungary), “Jazz in Parco Festival” in Nocera Inferiore (Naples – Italy), “Taormina Womad Festival” (Italy), “Friuli Jazz Festival” (Sesto al Reghena – Italy), and others. 2005 – “Midsummer Night in Sardinia” - The live recordings of 2004 concert “Armentos” in Santa Maria Navarrese became a live CD, “Midsummer Night in Sardinia”, which is the memory of a concert which remained in the heart of the protagonists. Al Di Meola's quote on the project - “The collaboration and discovery of Andrea Parodi and this combination of incredible and sensitive musicians from Italy-Sardinia have proved to be one of the most fulfilling musical experienses in my life!I am so honored to be a part of this incredible experience! This unique voice of Andrea Parodi stirs emotions that go to the most heartfelt depths of the human soul! In my opinion he is one of the most important and original voices of our time! The world needs to hear and experience this “Golden Voice”! The 2004 concert “Midsummer Night in Sardinia” will go down in my memory forever! It was like a dream! Al Di Meola” write your comments about the article :: © 2005 Jazz News :: home page |