Forum Home Forum Home > Progressive Music Lounges > Prog Bands, Artists and Genres Appreciation
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - Perigeo: the most competent Italian prog-band
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

Perigeo: the most competent Italian prog-band
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <12
Author
Message Reverse Sort Order
  Topic Search Topic Search  Topic Options Topic Options
jamesbaldwin View Drop Down
Prog Reviewer
Prog Reviewer
Avatar

Joined: September 25 2015
Location: Milano
Status: Offline
Points: 5986 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jamesbaldwin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 09 2023 at 18:08
Originally posted by BrufordFreak BrufordFreak wrote:

Listening to the first song of Azimet I'm immediately blown away by the Demetrio Stratos-like vocals--two years before anybody'd heard of Demetrio!--the brilliant Don Pullen-like piano, the truly distinctive saxophone. I wonder if they'd ever heard of the Giuseppi Logan Quartet.

The second song seems to convey a feeling and style that Eumir Deodato would make popular a couple years later in America with cream of the top American jazz players, though there are also Tony Williams Lifetime feelings to it as well (despite the excellent funky bass). I'm am loving this rhythm section! The drummer is wonderful!  

The spacious third song opens with the nice Fender Rhodes and electric bass interplay. As sax joins in and then drummer's cymbal play, the keyboard moves to a repeating chord progression while electric guitar and sax solo over the gentle jazz. This reminds me of both The Soft Machine and Miles. As it develops it reminds me more of the works of Alice Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders in the late 1960s.

Side Two's title songs seems to continue the spacious forms from the previous song, though this one a little more free jazz-like. Piano, bowed bass and tuned percussion sounds. This sounds so much like the opening of Return to Forever's "The Romantic Warrior"! (Did Chick steal it from Tommaso?) Then, halfway through, the band pauses to come together for a structured full band presentation--one in which the presentation of the main melody is traded off among the instrumentalists in a kind of call-and-response rondo! Cool! Then Franco goes off on a wild piano solo while guitar and bass keep the vehicle on the road (with drummer providing some very entertaining accents and embellishments).  

The second song on Side Two opens with gentle Fender Rhodes chords supporting the twin melody-making of  saxophone and Tommaso's reverbed vocalise. Very cool little interlude!

The final songs breaks out sounding very much like a song from The Soft Machine. The dirty electric guitar takes the first lead over the steady drummer, Fender Rhodes chord play, and bullet-note delivery of the bass. The rhythm section is really moving! And the melody lines are awesome! Impressive drum solo in the fourth minute. These guys can all play but the drummer, keyboardist, saxophonist, and bass player are all of the very highest caliber!

An excellent jazz-rock fusion album--one of the best j-r fuse debut albums ever! 

Okay, Lorenzo! I'm beginning to get why you started this thread. And I'm SO GLAD you did!



I've read your review, Drew: beautiful!

I'm listening to Perigeo too.

Just think that according to the writings by jazz-guitar player Enrico Merlin, Perigeo acted as a backing band for Soft Machine and Weather Report, but during the two tours, the Italian group ended up overshadowing Soft Machine and made Weather Report suffer to the point that their contract was revoked during the tour.




Edited by jamesbaldwin - June 09 2023 at 18:12
Amos Goldberg (professor of Genocide Studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem): Yes, it's genocide. It's so difficult and painful to admit it, but we can no longer avoid this conclusion.
Back to Top
Logan View Drop Down
Forum & Site Admin Group
Forum & Site Admin Group
Avatar
Site Admin

Joined: April 05 2006
Location: Vancouver, BC
Status: Online
Points: 35837 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Logan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 09 2023 at 17:49
The one I know best is Genealogia. Surely one of my favourite albums of the 70s. For Pedro, click.
Duos for fave acts
Back to Top
BrufordFreak View Drop Down
Collaborator
Collaborator
Avatar
Honorary Collaborator

Joined: January 25 2008
Location: Wisconsin
Status: Offline
Points: 8192 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BrufordFreak Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 09 2023 at 17:06
I'm second trip through Perigeo's sophomore album, and I'm liking it even more than their debut!
Drew Fisher
https://progisaliveandwell.blogspot.com/
Back to Top
BrufordFreak View Drop Down
Collaborator
Collaborator
Avatar
Honorary Collaborator

Joined: January 25 2008
Location: Wisconsin
Status: Offline
Points: 8192 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BrufordFreak Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 09 2023 at 06:53
Listening to the first song of Azimet I'm immediately blown away by the Demetrio Stratos-like vocals--two years before anybody'd heard of Demetrio!--the brilliant Don Pullen-like piano, the truly distinctive saxophone. I wonder if they'd ever heard of the Giuseppi Logan Quartet.

The second song seems to convey a feeling and style that Eumir Deodato would make popular a couple years later in America with cream of the top American jazz players, though there are also Tony Williams Lifetime feelings to it as well (despite the excellent funky bass). I'm am loving this rhythm section! The drummer is wonderful!  

The spacious third song opens with the nice Fender Rhodes and electric bass interplay. As sax joins in and then drummer's cymbal play, the keyboard moves to a repeating chord progression while electric guitar and sax solo over the gentle jazz. This reminds me of both The Soft Machine and Miles. As it develops it reminds me more of the works of Alice Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders in the late 1960s.

Side Two's title songs seems to continue the spacious forms from the previous song, though this one a little more free jazz-like. Piano, bowed bass and tuned percussion sounds. This sounds so much like the opening of Return to Forever's "The Romantic Warrior"! (Did Chick steal it from Tommaso?) Then, halfway through, the band pauses to come together for a structured full band presentation--one in which the presentation of the main melody is traded off among the instrumentalists in a kind of call-and-response rondo! Cool! Then Franco goes off on a wild piano solo while guitar and bass keep the vehicle on the road (with drummer providing some very entertaining accents and embellishments).  

The second song on Side Two opens with gentle Fender Rhodes chords supporting the twin melody-making of  saxophone and Tommaso's reverbed vocalise. Very cool little interlude!

The final songs breaks out sounding very much like a song from The Soft Machine. The dirty electric guitar takes the first lead over the steady drummer, Fender Rhodes chord play, and bullet-note delivery of the bass. The rhythm section is really moving! And the melody lines are awesome! Impressive drum solo in the fourth minute. These guys can all play but the drummer, keyboardist, saxophonist, and bass player are all of the very highest caliber!

An excellent jazz-rock fusion album--one of the best j-r fuse debut albums ever! 

Okay, Lorenzo! I'm beginning to get why you started this thread. And I'm SO GLAD you did!
Drew Fisher
https://progisaliveandwell.blogspot.com/
Back to Top
BrufordFreak View Drop Down
Collaborator
Collaborator
Avatar
Honorary Collaborator

Joined: January 25 2008
Location: Wisconsin
Status: Offline
Points: 8192 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BrufordFreak Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 09 2023 at 06:13
Interesting thread, Enzo! I'd never heard of this band so am very excited to check them out! Hard to disagree with MiamiScott's assertion with regards to Area, PFM and Banco, but I'm willing to listen with an open mind. Of course, your assertion of their originality does not conflict with the talent, accomplishments, and popularity of Area, PFM and Banco, so we're really in no area that might spawn any disagreements. 

More later after I've heard some of their albums!
Drew Fisher
https://progisaliveandwell.blogspot.com/
Back to Top
ProgEnStock View Drop Down
Forum Newbie
Forum Newbie


Joined: June 08 2023
Location: Montreal
Status: Offline
Points: 31 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ProgEnStock Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 09 2023 at 02:08
They are less free jazz than Area or Soft Machine. I really like Soft Machine, but I prefer Perigeo than Soft Machine, because there's a less saxophone solo in Perigeo. It's sure that Perigeo take more about american fusion than Soft Machine.
Back to Top
moshkito View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: January 04 2007
Location: Grok City
Status: Offline
Points: 17513 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote moshkito Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 30 2023 at 14:12
Hi,

Is there a good link for Perigeo? The toob stuff is likely something else.

Thx
Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
www.pedrosena.com
Back to Top
miamiscot View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: April 23 2014
Location: Ohio
Status: Offline
Points: 3574 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote miamiscot Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 30 2023 at 07:43
Excellent band but I think Area, PFM and Banco disagree with that headline.
The Prog Corner
Back to Top
jamesbaldwin View Drop Down
Prog Reviewer
Prog Reviewer
Avatar

Joined: September 25 2015
Location: Milano
Status: Offline
Points: 5986 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jamesbaldwin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 27 2023 at 03:59
Together with Area, Demetrio Stratos soloist and Napoli Centrale, 

Perigeo were the only truly original and innovative musical expression in Italy in the 1970s - with the exception of Nino Rota, Ennio Morricone, Piero Umiliani and a few artists in the academic sphere. 

It is sad and perhaps difficult to accept, but the facts tell this. Almost everything else is derivative, epigonic, strongly influenced by Anglo-American models.

(Enrico Merlin)
Amos Goldberg (professor of Genocide Studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem): Yes, it's genocide. It's so difficult and painful to admit it, but we can no longer avoid this conclusion.
Back to Top
Sean Trane View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator

Prog Folk

Joined: April 29 2004
Location: Heart of Europe
Status: Offline
Points: 20240 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Sean Trane Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 27 2023 at 02:07
Perigeo is probably my fave Italian band, partly because of the Miles/Machine/Nucleus heritage.

I don't see much Weather Report influence, though
let's just stay above the moral melee
prefer the sink to the gutter
keep our sand-castle virtues
content to be a doer
as well as a thinker,
prefer lifting our pen
rather than un-sheath our sword
Back to Top
omphaloskepsis View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: October 19 2011
Location: Texas
Status: Offline
Points: 6343 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote omphaloskepsis Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 26 2023 at 20:55
Personally, agree.  I visited my older brother- his Freshman year- at North Texas University.  His roommate was a jazz drummer.  There on their dorm room floor lay Perigeo's debut- Azimut.  On the turntable, amazing jazz serenading my ears. I was impressed.  I purchased my own copy...my first Italian album. A magical album for me to this day.Wink

Edited by omphaloskepsis - May 27 2023 at 06:30
Back to Top
jamesbaldwin View Drop Down
Prog Reviewer
Prog Reviewer
Avatar

Joined: September 25 2015
Location: Milano
Status: Offline
Points: 5986 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jamesbaldwin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 26 2023 at 18:22
Perigeo have skilfully incorporated the aesthetics of jazz-rock into an utterly personal language. The group's main driving force was bassist Giovanni Tommaso, but it was the combined forces of all the musicians that created this unprecedented sound mixture. In particular, Franco D'Andrea, who was to become one of the most acclaimed stars of jazz piano, and the visionary saxophonist Claudio Fasoli, a true stylist of this instrument, contributed solo interventions, which had nothing to envy from their American colleagues, to the group's sound. 
The language is that of jazz with compositions based on powerful vamps, but with articulated structures that are associated with prog. Perhaps the band that comes closest to Perigeo is Ian Carr Belladonna, but in that case the derivation from Miles Davis is more evident. 

Perigee developed an inimitable musical discourse, which made them an international cult band.
They acted as a backing band for Soft Machine and Weather Report, but over the course of the two tours, the Italian group ended up overshadowing Soft Machine and made Weather Report suffer to the point that their contract was revoked during the tour.

(Enrico Merlin, Italian musicologist and jazz guitar player)


Edited by jamesbaldwin - May 26 2023 at 18:28
Amos Goldberg (professor of Genocide Studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem): Yes, it's genocide. It's so difficult and painful to admit it, but we can no longer avoid this conclusion.
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <12

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down



This page was generated in 0.156 seconds.
Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.