Hailing from Rome Paolo Rozzi has already concentrated on the accordion at a young age. He graduated in accordion under the guidance of Maestro Sergio Scappini at the G. Rossini Conservatory in Pesaro. Since this time he is successfully working as music teacher and director of Viva Musica.

Rome resident Primiano Di Biase (piano and Rhodes) works as teacher at the same music school like Paolo, Viva Musica. In 2001 he received the low school diploma in singing and high school diploma in piano with jazz specialization at the University of Music in Rome.

Both musicians are active since several years in the Italian jazz scene. Together they created the album Bon Voyage in 2019. Paolo and Primiano have written all tracks in team work. They were supported by some Italian musicians listed in the credits.

The official information describes the album as followed: "Bon Voyage is an imaginative and magnificent journey among the wide impressions that every place can arouse: the color of a sunset, the rustling of the wind, the scent of blossoming lemons, the rush of a thunderstorm. Every moment experienced is shared with enthusiasm through sounds, melodies and sensations that only music can express."

Meltemi is a wind in the Aegean.  Already after the first few phrases, one recognizes that the musicians are at home in the field of contemporary jazz, but also, and here I'm referring to the accordion, the local color. Thus we experience a quite successful fusion of jazz with Italian folklore.

Voyageurs radiates exhilaration with the swinging rhythm that wonderfully supports Paolo's accordion with the French flair. Primiano picks up the theme on the piano and so a question and answer dialog develops.

Friend comes along with a somewhat gloomy undertone. The melancholy runs through the whole piece. Fabioli Tullio takes over the accordion sound on the saxophone and leads the whole thing into more jazzy areas. Because the formation is not limited to short pieces, everyone can participate on their instruments and deepen the theme in small solos.

Fuori Piove (Outside It's raining) continues the tristresse and develops it into an art form of its own. As the piece progresses, the tempo increases and it develops into a narrative. Accordion, bass and piano interact without restricting each other's freedom. Even though the theme is always present, sometimes fortissimo, sometimes legato, jazz shimmers constantly through.

Ganimede is a moon of the planet Jupiter, in this context a distinctive drum solo by Massimiliano De Lucia which also serves as a transition to the following piece. Sirio is the Italian name of the brightest star on the night sky. Here, however, Paolo Rozzi shines on the accordion, which unmistakably builds the bridge between the painterly and the virtuoso.

In music, the term Adagio means played slowly. It's borrowed from Italian, from the phrase ad agio, literally, "at ease." The title is the aptly description of the content, a gentle accordion interlude.

Delirium is a serious disturbance in mental abilities that results in confused thinking and reduced awareness of the environment. However, it is difficult to establish a connection to the piece named in this way, because it is rather exhilarating and highly motivated.

Balkan Express is an overnight train operating between İstanbul and Belgrade. With the grace of a waltz, the accordion internalizes itself into an apotheosis. Followed by the piano as the mirror of mastery. Salvador seamlessly follows with a Latin flavor.

In order to understand the style of this album, you should be familiar with the origin of the accordion. Originally a French instrument, the title of the album indicates the relationship, the lightness of the instrument served many Italians as an internalization of their joy of life. It was the famous composer Giuseppe Verdi who suggested this instrument for the study on conservatory. In Italy the accordion is still fashion and that way French and Italian elements blended into a new folkloric style.

So if the jazzy orientation of our two protagonists can be heard from time to time on this album, the conventional style of the accordion on Bon Voyage dominates in such a powerful way that it is difficult to still assign it to contemporary jazz. However lovers of the accordion will definitely get their money's worth. 

 

 

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Album Information

Title: Bon Voyage
Artist: Paolo Rozzi | Pimiano Di Biase
Year: 2019
Genre: Folk
Label: AlfaMusic

Tracks:


1) Meltemi (4:13)
2) Voyageurs (4:18)
3) Friend (6:56)
4) Fuori Piove (7:38)
5) Ganimede (1:53)
6) Sirio (5:43)
7) Adagio (4:06)
8) Delirium (4:30)
9) Balkan Express (5:12)
10) Salvador (2:52)





Credits:

Fabio Tullio (sax)
Francesco Saverio Capo (bass)
Massimiliano De Lucia (drums)
Simone Talone (percussion)