"Duncanville (Texas), Monterotondo (Italy), Naples (Italy), Tucson (Arizona) and Messina (Italy) are the places of origin of 5 young talented musicians who meet, each with their own history and culture, in Manhattan – to study precisely at the Manhattan School of Music, founded by Janet Daniels Schenck in 1918, one of the first conservatories in the United States to recognize the importance of jazz as an art form and to set up specific degree courses. MSM today is recognized for its approximately 1,000 exceptionally talented students from more than 50 countries around the world and nearly all 50 US states, with world-renowned teachers and alumni who have become award-winning musicians, with programs dedicated to personal, artistic and intellectual development of aspiring musicians. And it is precisely at the MSM that the singer Imani Williams from Duncanville, the pianist Antongiulio Foti from Monterotondo, the drummer Marcello Cardillo from Naples, the double bass player Dylan Holly from Tucson and the saxophonist Nicola Caminiti from Messina meet. By Antongiulio Foti – of Palmese roots – whom I have the pleasure of knowing personally and whom we hosted at the first edition of the Circolo Armino Festival, we also know that he has already played in important Italian jazz festivals and that his first CD has just been released for AlfaMusic "Hold Fast", with the prestigious collaboration of two great names of Italian Jazz: Jacopo Ferrazza on double bass and Ettore Fioravanti, historic drummer of Paolo Fresu's quintet, and with the extraordinary participation of the singer Daniela Spalletta and Rosario Giuliani on sax. The saxophonist Nicola Caminiti has appearances in world-famous jazz festivals and clubs behind him, a musician and composer considered among the leading musical figures of his generation. Even Marcello Cardillo, Dylan Holly and Imani Williams, despite their young age, are already part of the new jazz generation and have stepped on stages of a certain prestige; they are all five young students, winners of scholarships, who are putting their talent at the disposal of exceptional teachers to deepen the study of the instrument and which, certainly, in a few years we will be able to appreciate even on very important stages. I was lucky, thanks to the "tip" given to me by my friend Mimmo Gagliostro, to listen to them "live" last February 13 in a performance for the Jazz ComboFest with the "BAM'N (Billy, Abbey, Mary Lou, Nina) Ensemble ” (I advise you to listen to them by clicking on the link https://www.msmnyc.edu/livestream/combofest-rosenthal/ ): 46 minutes of excellent music and lots of groove, with a very interesting repertoire – a tribute to great female jazz voices – and politically engaged, such as “Freedom Day” – opening piece of the concert, composed in 1960 by Max Roach and the poet Oscar Brown Jr. dedicated to the fight against social injustice, protest piece and the most overtly political jazz recording of the time . Next they played Nina Simone's version of the melancholy "Willow Weep for Me" - a song written in 1932 by Ann Ronell - and then moved on to "Open the Door" - a popular song written by Betty Carter in 1964 - and "Long as You 're Living” – piece written by Tommy Turrentine and Julian Priester, words by the poet Oscar Brown Jr. and recorded for the first time by Abbey Lincoln in 1959. Then we find “Black Christ of the Andes” by the First Lady of Jazz, the extraordinary pianist Mary Lou Williams, a choral spiritual rearranged for the occasion by our own Imani Williams. To close with the iconic hymn to freedom "Hymn to Freedom" by Oscar Peterson connected to "I wish I Knew How it Would Feel to be Free" by Billy Taylor rearranged by Antongiulio Foti. As we have seen, the choice of repertoire is not accidental, they are all pieces performed in the past by extraordinary female jazz performers – some pieces remind us of the need to rediscover the unity and equality that appears lost sight of in our divided and fragmented world . Freedom to find again, this is the hope, even from the damned pandemic that forced our five musicians to play, for safety reasons, with masks and with a film applied to the saxophone bell. Not being able to see and enjoy, as well as the music, also the facial expressions of the musicians is something that saddened me a lot but I'm sure that under the mask "our guys" really gave it a go. I know it's hard to be on stage playing, looking at the empty audience and not hearing applause! Anyway now, I'm applauding you… Thanks guys!!!"
Happy listening to the concert here, and the Italian version of the article is at this link.
Click here for the concert!
Francesco Braganò, from Sala d’ascolto, “Circolo Armino”
March 2, 2021
Please note that the present article is an automatic-machine translation from the corresponding Italian version. It is hoped, however, that the original sense, style and character have been preserved.