UN SALUTO ALLE NUVOLE

More great refreshing avant lounge jazz from this laid back yet-inventive Italian band led by Stefano Giannotti (a genius). I love their musical vision: It's so different from anyone out there! Every song on this album contains, begins with, or is built around a speech sample. Again, if you can't find them (on Bandcamp) under Ma.Ra.Cash. Records or the name OTEME, try them under their original name as Osservatorio delle TErre EMErse.

1. "Chiudere quella porta" (3:10) opens with raspy old man's spoken words. Turns folk classical before a more traditional Euro-jazz element slips in to move the song forward. Otherwise, this is almost an avant choral piece. From the department of YUGEN or FACTOR BURZACO. A top three song for me. (9/10) 2. "E c'è qualcuno" (3:46) opens with middle aged woman speaking before acoustic guitar and double bass enter to provide the foundational sound for lone male singer and, later, elaborately constructed multi-voiced chordal weave. Flutes, clarinets, harp, vibes and other hand percussives all help fill the rich sonic field. Nice. (8.75/10)

3. "Un ricordo bello" (5:16) The sounds of either setting the dinner table or putting away the dishes in the kitchen sound while young woman speaks over the top. Vibes, organ, and lone female voice enter to sing over the continued sounds of dishes and silverware being manipulated. Clarinets, flute, and soloing classical guitar provide an instrumental middle before singer returns to finish. More FACTOR BURZACO reminders. (8.75/10)

4. "Dieci giorni" (6:29) metal ticking of a bedside alarm clock over which middle aged man speaks and then military-like countdown before drum rhythm and bowed double bass interplay take over. More instruments are gradually, singularly added to the weave--clarinets, harpsichord, harmonica, male and female singers, piano, harp, flute, even raunchy electric guitar, building and building over same six-measure rhythmic pattern. Then they're all equally systematically deconstructed to the closing explosion. (8.5/10)

5. "Gli angeli di san cataldo" (3:28) odd electronically-filtered percussive noises over which violin, classical guitar and flute play. There's a bit of tango or even Stephane Grappelli here. Harmonica joins. Spacious, discordant, tension- filled, and plain weird. (8/10)

6. "Quando la sera" (5:41) harp-supported choral display--were it not for the traditional instruments and syncopated rhythm structure (or un-structure) this could almost be a piece written for a liturgical reading. The banjo- and clarinet- supported center section contains the singing voice of a much younger female than we've heard before. More avant chromaticisms fill the spaces between the vocals. Intriguing. (9/10)

7. "Turni" (11:57) opens with the speech of a young woman. She is eventually joined by a background of what sounds like African field chanting--which then bleeds into the electro-rhythm-tracked musical weave of double bass, vibes, and organ. Lone male voice sings over this simple, spacious weave and is eventually joined by a woman--the two interacting as if in a conversation. It's actually quite beautiful.Though the music and main melody span the entire eleven minutes, it's quite hypnotic. Plus, there are plenty of "guest visitors" adding their ten cents along the way to make it interesting. Another top three song. (22.25/25)

8. "Una mamma disperata" (8:15) a pretty classical guitar chord progression is all that supports the main male singer's solo voce. At 0:48 more instruments and a whole host of other vocalists join in. The harp is especially interesting. Bass clarinet and harmonica--and, later, wild and reckless piano--take over in the instrumental passage between the second and third verses. At 3:28 the drummer begins to really mess with the rhythm--almost "forcing" the other instruments to fall away for his nearly two-minute solo. Then Stefano Giannotti and the male singer restart, the song replicating all it had done from the start only in a more condensed, faster fashion--leading to a festive folk-jazz jam before the scaled-down final verse. (17.5/20)

9. "Per i giorni a venire" (7:37) opens with the recorded speech of a wise woman before children's electric piano takes over at 0:40 to introduce the main chord progression and melody of the ensuing uptempo jazz song. This is really pretty! At the five minute mark everything kind of cuts out, disintegrates, for a chaotic "Also Sprach Zarathustra" kind of children's collaboration in cacophony. The harp and maybe the clarinet seem to be the only ones trying to keep it together. A top three song for me. (13.5/15)

10. "Un saluto alle nuvole" (1:40) harp and harmonium duet. As if next to the open air campfire. (4.25/5)

Total Time 57:19

B+/four stars; an excellent addition to any prog lover's music collection. This is the kind of music that I love--that I see as the refreshing future of music.