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Enrico
Pieranunzi
feat. Massimo Urbani
Live at the Berlin Jazz Days´84
Enrico Pieranunzi,
piano
Enzo Pietropaoli, bass
Fabrizio Sferra, drums
Massimo Urbani*, alto sax
Berlin
1984 - a long time and many notes ago ... I still remember
the phone call from George Gruntz inviting me to play at that
prestigious festival, an entire evening of which he had decided
to dedicate to Italian jazz. I had recently formed - along
with Enzo Pietropaoli and Fabrizio Sferra - the "Space
Jazz Trio", a group that lasted a long time and enjoyed
a great deal of artistic satisfaction. So it seemed only natural
to propose to Gruntz that I participate in that evening with
my trio, with the addition for the occasion of an extraordinary
sax player, Massimo Urbani, who I was working with a lot in
these years. Naturally I knew that the festival was always
held in one of Europe's most glorious and evocative concert
halls - the Berlin "Philharmonie" -home of the Berlin
Philharmoniker and its celebrated conductor Herbert von Karajan.
But knowing this didn t do much to lessen an impact that was,
needless to say, incredibly emotional. The place was truly
awesome; its special rich, resonant sonority also contributed
to creating a sense of austere severity - what a difference
from the hot, throbbing atmosphere of a typical jazz club!
But everything went fine and the audience really appreciated
our work. That was my first concert in Germany and since then
I have gone back regularly to play there, thanks to my friend
York v. Prittwitz, who I met for the first time on the occasion
of that concert. I didn't know who he was at the time but
he, a great Italian jazz enthusiast, already knew me very
well through the recordings of mine that he had bought. York
was in the process of setting up his independent recording
label yvp at the time and he asked me to record for him. That
was the beginning of a wonderful collaboration that has lasted
these twenty years, and I consider the release of this concert
on CD the best birthday gift imaginable for this anniversary.
Thanks York - and many happy returns!
Enrico Pieranunzi
May 2004
PS.
The original live LP version of this concert - long since
out of print - contained only one piece in quartet with Massimo
Urbani'- "Solar". The second piece we did together
that evening - "Will you be mine ?" - was cut as
a result of problems caused by the hall's remarkable resonance.
Looking back now, the reasons for cutting it are no longer
important. Listening to it today, that piece is an exceptional
document of one of the most talented musicians ever to appear
on the international jazz scene. So York and I decided to
include it in memoriam of a great and unforgettable fellow-musician
and friend,
Massimo Urbani.
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