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Antonio Flinta: Anger, Commitment and Love
ByFlinta is a distinctive pianist, with a crisp, assertive touch and slightly quirky articulation. Bassist Bucci and drummer Gioannini, have recorded three trio outings with the pianist/leader, and the familiarity and simpatico on display here are the keys to the success of the outing. The music has the depth and one-of-a-kind character of John Coltrane's classic group with drummer Elvin Jones, bassist Jimmy Garrison and pianist and McCoy Tyner. Flinta's sound is percussive and muscular; drummer Gioannini is fearless, and bassist Bucci holds down the middle with a powerful determination. Saxophonist Orologi fits into the mix well, on his sometimes-raw tenor and his pristine-toned soprano sax.
Of the five tunes herefour from Flinta's pen and one from bassist Buccithree are extended workouts, between twelve and fourteen minutes long, giving the group much room to roam. They make the most of it, with the leader writing stories full of surprises and moments of mysterious beauty.
"Yudhisthira's Song," falling under the CD title's commitment component, opens the set by taking inspiration from the Indian epic Mahabharata's main character (Yudhishthira), who makes his final journey up the mountain with his four-legged companion to achieve heaven, to be told that paradise is not open to dogs. "In that case, I don't seek heaven," says the protagonist. The eleven-minute journey to the mountaintop sounds arduous, full of obstacles, before it slips into a karmic reverie, Flinta playing with a fetching delicacy and saxophonist Orologi weaving ardent cosmological threads into an increasing truculence that tapers into a shimmering acceptance before reaching again toward that heaven that becomes, ultimately, unattainable.
"Yone y Elena," composed for Flinta's young nieces, falls under "love," expressing the composer's familial fondness for his family with an acknowledgment that in the grand scheme of things, we are small, and nothing matters quite so much as the human connection of love does, while 'anger is addressed by "Yo Hombre del Mundo (Migrant)," the only non-Flinta originalcomposed by bassist Bucci is a nod to migrants everywhere, those who are making arduous journeys to escape hunger and the chaos of crumbling societies, people suffering degradation and at times dumb, undisguised cruelty dished out by a crass cohort of the more fortunate among us. Clocking in at fourteen minutesand serving as the recording's closer. The tune wanders, exploring sadness and despair. Clocking in at fourteen minutes, it is a stunning epic of a tune, felt and expressed deeply by Antonio Flinta and his inspired quartet.
Track Listing
Yudhishthira’s Song, Yone y Elena, La Edad de La Ira, The Flower You Don't Expect; Yo Hombre del Mundo (Migrant).
Personnel
Album information
Title: Anger, Commitment and Love | Year Released: 2023 | Record Label: Self Produced