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| Franco Ambrosetti - The Wind A professional trumpet player since 1961 and an ENJA recording artist since 1980, Franco Ambrosetti is hailed among Europe's most prolific jazz musicians. Starting with a first prize for trumpet at the 1966 Vienna International Jazz Competition (under the direction of Friedrich Gulda), Ambrosetti has won a nice collection of awards in several countries for (among others) "Best Record of the Year", "Best European Musician", and "Best Festival Act". The recent re-release of his 1986 album "Movies" is considered a highlight of the 24-bit ENJA master edition and was greeted with wide critical acclaim. Since his retirement from industrial business (Ambrosetti managed his family's company "Ambrosetti Technologies" for many years), the trumpeter has released a string of great, individual albums. His 2006 outing "Liquid Gardens" reminded many listeners of long-gone masters such as Chet Baker and Miles Davis. "What a sound! Ambrosetti's walking-around in 'liquid gardens' leads us into a magic realm", German magazine Audio read. The album was elected "CD of the month" in Stereo magazine where Ambrosetti was called "one of the most tasteful in his field". "The Wind", Franco Ambrosetti's thirteenth ENJA album as a leader, is named after its opener, an outstanding Russ Freeman composition that Chet Baker made famous in 1952. "I was then 11 years old", Ambrosetti says, "and ever since I thought of recording it one day. So here it is, played Latin style, not as a ballad." Other bows to fellow musicians include a new version of Sonny Rollins' 1954 classic "Doxy" and the leader's own "Mike On Wings", a re-working of his collaboration with the late Mike Brecker back in 1984. "He was a dear friend", Ambrosetti explains, "whose influence on my music has been and still is dominant in many ways." After three leader albums in a row featuring Franco's son Gianluca on soprano sax and Italian Dado Moroni on piano, "The Wind" presents the trumpeter in a new surrounding, accompanied by the current all-American trio of pianist Uri Caine who also contributed two great tunes to the album ("Otello" and "Stiletto"). For the first time in 10 years Ambrosetti is the only horn player on one of his albums. Concentrating on the trumpet (no fluegelhorn this time) and fuelled by the cooking energy of Uri Caine, Drew Gress and Clarence Penn, Ambrosetti's playing radiates a power and youthfulness that betray his age of 66. write your comments about the article :: © 2008 Jazz News :: home page |