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| Jan 2020: Bassist Massimo Biolcati, Incontre, founding member Gilfema Massimo Biolcati Incontre It's been 10 years since his solo debut Persona now Biolcati steps forward with music he has been writing and performing over the years. Featuring: Massimo Biolcati - Bass Dayna Stephens - Tenor, Soprano and Baritone Saxophones Sam Yahel - Piano & Organ Jongkuk Kim - Drums 21st century jazz is a global movement, and New York bassist Massimo Biolcati embodies the music's creative reach. A first-call accompanist, producer, composer and bandleader, he is known as a founding member of Gilfema, the acclaimed collective trio with Hungarian drummer Ferenc Nemeth and West African guitarist and vocalist Lionel Loueke. Release Date: January 24, 2020 Growing up in Sweden and Italy, Biolcati first started performing jazz at age 16 in Turin. After studying classical and jazz bass while playing at festivals and clubs around northern Italy, he returned to Stockholm to study Jazz. In what became a pattern for Biolcati, he quickly found himself inundated with gigs, performing regularly with an array of top-shelf musicians at the city's most prestigious venues and festivals. A scholarship to Berklee College of Music brought him to Boston in 1996, and once again Biolcati quickly established himself as a first-call cat, performing with resident masters such as George Garzone, Jerry Bergonzi, Hal Crook, Mick Goodrick and Bob Moses. It was at Berklee that he met Ferenc Nemeth and Lionel Loueke forging friendships that have profoundly shaped his life. After five years in Boston, he auditioned for the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz at the University of Southern California with his Berklee comrades. The jury consisted of jazz greats Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter and Terence Blanchard. Biolcati was the only bass player selected among hundreds of applicants worldwide to attend the program. At The Monk Institute, he studied and performed with jazz legends such as Dave Holland, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Kenny Barron, John Scofield, Christian McBride, Lewis Nash, Mark Turner and many others. But much of his most important work took place with his peers as he, Nemeth and Loueke spent countless hours developing a group concept; "We were exploring ideas of mixing Lionel's African rhythms with more modern jazz rhythmic ideas, trying to come up with a sound". After moving to New York City in 2003 he thrived as a sideman working widely with Paquito D'Rivera, Terence Blanchard, Ravi Coltrane and Lizz Wright. In recent years he's toured and recorded with Brazilian vocalist/composer Luciana Souza. As a leader he released Persona (2008, Obliqsound), an ambitious and critically hailed debut album of original compositions played by Loueke, pianist/accordionist Peter Rende, and drummer Jeff Ballard, with vocal contributions by Lizz Wright and Gretchen Parlato. Biolcati also runs iReal Pro, the music app he created in 2009 that has become an essential tool for musicians and music students. Since its inception, Biolcati has spent several years honing the code and developing the app's features and capabilities. While performing widely in New York with an array of players, Biolcati is increasingly turning his attention to producing. He worked closely with the electro-funk outfit Horne Electric Band (2019, Ropeadope) on a self-titled debut. The ever busy Biolcati is set to release his own leader release Incontre (Sounderscore) in January of 2020 and a new Gilfema album is slated for Spring of 2020, which Biolcati produced. Massimo's inspiration behind the recording from his perspective. It's been 10 years since my solo debut Persona and I finally decided it was time to record some of the music I have been writing and performing over the years. The impetus for this recording was to bring together musicians that I love and respect and to let them freely explore some of my original compositions and arrangements of old and new songs I like. I've known Dayna Stephens since we were at Berklee College of Music and then at The Monk Institute together. I love his beautiful, unique and soulful sound and I immediately thought of him when conceiving the project. He played various saxophones providing a varied palette of colors to the music. I have been lucky to play with Sam Yahel a number of times through the years and he is a wonderful improviser on piano and organ. His ability to capture the spirit of a composition and to improvise over it lyrically is phenomenal. Jongkuk Kim or J.K. as we call him, is a young, incredibly talented drummer that I met recently. He blew my mind with his musicianship and maturity and I wanted him to contribute his creative and always evolving grooves to my music. The opening track "Hello, I Lied" was born from a bass line I wrote a couple of years ago. It has a deceiving rhythm (a sort of lie) and having played it on various occasions with both J.K. and Sam, I knew they would have fun with it and explore its possibilities. "Boo Boo's Birthday" is a quirky and fun Monk composition that I always enjoy playing. As I understand, it was dedicated to Art Blakey (Boo Boo) for his birthday and fittingly the composition features some interesting rhythmic twists. I thought Dayna would shine on this one with his swinging phrasing. I arranged the classic Charlie Chaplin song "Smile" to give it a slow rolling groove over which the melody is stretched wide. I also changed it from the original major to a minor key to better evoke the melancholy of the song. Growing up in the 80s, I am attached to some memorable pop songs of that time, so I decided to arrange the Tears For Fears' "Everybody Wants To Rule The World." The idea was to have the famous melody smoothly flow over a fast but light and bouncy rhythm. I really enjoy J.K.'s inventive use of colors while at the same keeping the rhythmic drive. To slow things down, I made the inception of paying tribute to Mingus, paying tribute to Ellington with the gorgeous "Duke Ellington's Sound of Love." I wanted to feature Sam's masterful organ playing and Dayna's baritone which elevates the music further. The title track "Incontre" is a piece I wrote about 20 years ago but never recorded. It was inspired by Kenny Wheeler's beautiful writing and I thought it would be perfect for the sensibility of this band. As a tribute to another great bassist and personal hero Dave Holland, I chose one of his funky compositions "How's Never" that I was listening to on repeat when it came out. This was the perfect chance to feature J.K. "Fellini" is a musical portrait of my memories of watching TV while growing up in Italy. I see a man in a dark suit with sunglasses and a cigarette between his lips, riding a Vespa at sunset on his way to meet Sofia Loren at the Grand Hotel by the Riviera. Closing the recording is "Birthday Song, Almost, " which was to be a birthday present for my significant other. I missed the deadline by a few days - and the song didn't emerge as cheerful nor celebratory as intended. Bringing these musicians together proved to be a successful recipe as the chemistry was strong and the music came to life through deep listening and interaction amongst all. Tracks, Players & Times: 1 - Hello, I Lied (M. Biolcati) 5:17 2 - Boo Boo's Birthday (T. Monk) 4:25 3 - Smile (C. Chaplin) 5:27 4 - Everybody Wants To Rule The World 5:30 5 - Duke Ellington's Sound Of Love (C. Mingus) 3:54 6 - Incontre (M. Biolcati) 6:36 7 - How's Never (D. Holland) 6:29 8 - Fellini (M. Biolcati) 4:46 9 - Birthday Song, Almost (M. Biolcati) 5:23 Massimo Biolcati - Bass Dayna Stephens - Tenor, Soprano and Baritone Saxophones Sam Yahel - Piano & Organ Jongkuk Kim - Drums write your comments about the article :: © 2019 Jazz News :: home page |