In his second ECM album
Italy’s Stefano Battaglia honours his countryman Pier Paolo
Pasolini (1922-1975), one of the great European filmmakers of
the 20th century, as well as a distinguished poet, novelist,
playwright, philosopher, journalist, painter – and political
activist. Few artists of any nationality have taken on as much
as the outspoken, controversial, intensively creative Pasolini.
It was precisely the scope of Pasolini’s work and his tumultuous
life that attracted and inspired pianist-composer-improviser
Battaglia. “What made the challenge of ‘interpreting’ Pasolini
musically irresistible for me was this feeling for his unitas
multiplex, his extraordinary capacity to bring opposites into
coexistence. Not only academic and popular culture, or the
sacred and profane, but also political, ethical and religious
issues. Pasolini was adept in many mediums, each of his arts
influenced the other, intermeshing and blending together to
communicate his message in the most varied ways. “
Two different line-ups under Battaglia’s direction are
assigned to play music that variously makes reference to the
atmospheres of Pasolini’s films and to the actors in them, to
Pasolini’s ‘rural’ and ‘urban’ poetry and his provocative
journalism, to his political and religious beliefs, and to
specific scenes from his biography...The first CD of this double
album features a group that also tours as the Pietra Lata
Sestetto. Alongside Battaglia’s lyrical piano, the trumpet of
Switzerland’s Michael Gassmann glides elegantly: Battaglia and
Gassmann have played in projects together for 13 years already.
The sound of the ensemble is also strongly coloured by the
clarinet of Mirco Mariottini and the cello of Tokyo-born Aya
Shimura. Melody is uppermost on the first half of “Re: Pasolini”
where melancholy, nostalgia and tenderness are amongst the
music’s emotional characteristics. Darker sounds predominate on
the second CD where the improvisational quotient is raised, and
the band includes Dominique Pifarély, Bruno Chevillon and
Vincent Courtois – all known to ECM listeners for their work
with Louis Sclavis – , as well as gifted drummer Michele Rabbia.
Here, Battaglia looks at subjects including Pasolini’s troubled
relationship to the church and his radical politics, and, on the
bleak but moving “Ostia”, his violent death in 1975. Of the
latter composition, Battaglia says, “My piece is intended as a
Passion for Pasolini, a soundtrack for the violent and
mysterious tragedy which occurred on that night of All
Saints...”
Battaglias’s detailed liner notes give an account of
the genesis of each of the pieces on “Re: Pasolini” and outline
his programmatic intention. Taken together the 24 tracks on this
double album add up to a remarkable portrait of a multi-faceted
artist. (“Re: Pasolini” is also an important addition to the
burgeoning number of film related projects on ECM which in
recent history included Jean-Luc Godard soundtracks and a DVD of
short films, Eleni Karaindrou’s music for Angelopoulos, Andrey
Dergatchev’s soundtrack for Russian art movie “The Return”,
François Couturier’s tribute to Tarkovsky and more.)
Born in Milan in
1965, Battaglia first attracted attention as a classical
pianist, playing music from baroque and early music to 20th
century composition (with a focus on Hindemith, Boulez, Messiaen
and Ligeti) and successfully touring the European festivals in
this capacity. He began playing jazz at 14, inspired by two ECM
discs: Paul Bley’s “Open, To Love” and Keith Jarrett’s “Facing
You”. “When I heard those records – both of which are still
favourites – I recognised right away that classical music alone
could no longer satisfy all my musical needs, and that it would
not be my only channel for artistic communication.” By the end
of the 1980s he was also winning awards as a jazz player.
Subsequently he played with all of the major Italian improvisers
and with international jazz musicians including Lee Konitz,
Dewey Redman, Marc Johnson, Barre Phillips, Steve Swallow, Kenny
Wheeler and many more. He has revealed a special affinity for
drums and percussion, working in duos with, amongst others, Tony
Oxley, Pierre Favre, Billy Elgart, Michele Rabbia and Roberto
Dani.
In Italy he has recorded prodigiously, now with a
discography of more than sixty recordings scattered around the
small labels, his recordings for Splasc(h) in particular
attracting international attention. “A formidable player...,”
the Penguin Guide to Jazz enthused, “he has a gift for melodic
shaping which is the bequest of a generation of Italian piano
masters.” This gift has adapted itself to the most wide ranging
formats, from solo performance to his 16-piece large ensemble
Theatrum, and in contexts from free playing to new arrangements
of Alec Wilder’s art songs to multi-discipline projects
addressing poetry (from St John of the Cross to Rilke), painting
and film: “It seems natural to me to try and connect the things
that I love deeply.”
His debut ECM album was “Raccolto”, released in 2005
(Editor’s Choice in Jazz Review), and featuring Dominique
Pifarély, Giovanni Maier and Michele Rabbia. .
Stefano Battaglia is playing the Pasolini-project, with
Michael Gassmann, Mirco Mariottini, Aya Shimura, Salvatore
Maiore and Roberto Dani at a number of festivals in 2007,
including the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina, in
May. A special event will also take place in Siena, Italy, in
June. A number of other dates is in preparation; more news soon
at www.ecmrecords.com
Handsomely-packaged even by ECM standards, the album
“Re:Pasolini” includes images from Pier Paolo Pasolini’s films
“The Gospel According to St Matthew” and “The Decameron”, as
well as Pasolini’s poem “The Song of the Bells”, and liner notes
by Stefano Battaglia.
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