Italian Big band - Marco Renzi

Disc 1 Side A

1. ITALIAN MEDLEY N°2 - 7.53 - arr. Marco Renzi
   IN CERCA DI TE (Sciorilli) - NUN E’ PECCATO (C.A. Rossi) - QUANDO UNA RAGAZZA (L. Luttazzi)
2. CARLO ALBERTO ROSSI MEDLEY- 8.08 - arr. Marco Renzi
   E SE DOMANI - AMORE BACIAMI - MON PAIS - ‘NA VOCE, ‘NA CHITARRA - CONOSCI MIA CUGINA

Disc 1 Side B

1. BRUNO MARTINO SUITE - 8.55 - arr. V.A. Morra
   BACIAMI PER DOMANI - COS’HAI TROVATO IN LUI - E LA CHIAMANO ESTATE - ESTATE
2. KRAMER MEDLEY - 4.06 - arr. Marco Renzi
   DOMENICA E’ SEMPRE DOMENICA - MERCI BEAUCOUP - UN BACIO A MEZZANOTTE - PIPPO NON LO SA

Disc 2 Side A

1. STOCCOLMA MALINCONICA - 4.21 - arr. Rob Pronk
   MELANCHOLY STOCKHOLM - Composer: Buddy De Franco, ASCAP
2. D’ANZI MEDLEY 4.09 - arr. Marco Renzi
   BAMBINA INNAMORATA - NON DIMENTICAR LE MIE PAROLE - SILENZIO SLOW - MA L’AMORE NO

Disc 2 Side B

1. SENZA FINE 8.03 - (Paoli) - arr. V.A. Morra
   NEL BLU DIPINTO DI BLU (Modugno) arr. V.A. Morra
2. ITALIAN MEDLEY N°3 7.55 - arr. Marco Renzi
   ANCORA (De Crescenzo) - QUANDO, QUANDO, QUANDO (T. Renis) - L’ITALIANO (T. Cutugno)

Total time 54.29

Recording a jazz Big Band is not an easy experience to describe. It all gets more complicated if I pretend (as I wanted to do on this occasion) to appropriate the soul of the interpretation, to search not only for the timbres, the colors and the dimensions of the orchestra, but also for the touch of the fingers that push the keys of the trumpet, the resonating of the skins touched by the sticks, the movement of the air moved by the clarinetist standing for the solo... all in an ideal acoustic container: the Teatro Comunale of Atri, a charming town in Abruzzo. In short, the physical commitment of playing combined with the passion for perfection of execution in an increasingly esoteric "natural sound". Jazz is in itself pure emotion, made of warm shivers of double bass, lashes of brass, whispers of brushes on cymbals and hi-hats, thunders of bass drums and bells. Passion, sweat, vigor, joy and enthusiasm, fused in making music together in a single harmony, sculpt in this recording the many - and pleasant - days spent in Atri in the company of a band, made up first of all of kind and hospitable friends, directed by a big-hearted musician Marco Renzi, who gave me their soul, damning themselves forever and have signed with me this "pact of sound and emotion" to which only with the best hi-fi systems ordinary mortals will be able to give new life. For this great occasion I dusted off, polishing the sound as best as possible, the legendary Neumann U 47 and U 49, when I finally put them away, they still smelled of sulfur. ... oh, I forgot after listening to this recording, people gossip about having seen a goat's hoof sticking out of my left shoe, of course it's all just talk. Enjoy listening from yours devilishly. But be careful of your soul, audiophile of course!
I dedicate this recording to my big and fat friend Marco Fontanelli (a big man like me), a deep connoisseur of jazz music and a demanding listener.
[Giulio Cesare Ricci - Atri, 1995]

‘Italian Big Band was founded in 1993 by Marco Renzi, who is its permanent director. It brings together professors from the most important conservatories and aligns the classic jazz orchestra staff: six trumpets, five trombones, five saxophones, piano, guitar, double bass and drums. In its repertoire, very varied and in many ways unusual, it combines authors of academic, jazz and light extraction, from Rota to Trovajoli, from D’Anzi to Kramer, from C.A. Rossi to Martino and Modugno, from G. Miller to C. Porter to Count Basie, as can be seen, authors (and music) well known to the general public, but carefully chosen and approached with particular rigor in the executive details, both using arrangements and transcribing the scores from historical recordings. The Italian Big Band is in fact a delicate cultural operation whose primary objective is to re-evaluate and publicize the Big Band as an ensemble with its own performing tradition, illustrious literature, and masterpieces. In Italy this had not yet happened, even though several orchestras with similar instruments are active in our country. However, they are used to perform new productions, not to re-illustrate the most enduring part of the historical repertoire. No one, then, has set themselves the goal of keeping the Italian Big Band tradition alive, which nevertheless boasts memorable pages and authors. This very ensemble, with its peculiar mix - the absence of strings, the predominance of brass - also allows us to appreciate all the qualities of its members (solo and ensemble virtuosity, improvisational ability, interpretative flexibility) and offers the opportunity to listen to high-quality music in very pleasant performances. All the members of the Italian Big Band boast a high level of technical skill and experience in the genre both in the orchestra and as soloists; some come from the dissolved RAI orchestras
The orchestra has participated several times in the broadcast “Seconda serata” on RAI UNO and was chosen by RAI executives to commemorate Ginger Rogers in a program that retraced the most significant musical moments of the great artist who recently passed away. The Italian Big Band carries out an intense concert activity, in Italy and abroad.
[Marcello Piras]