The
Danilo Rea -
Roberto Gatto Trio, featuring
Joseph
Lepore, brings a combination of authentic Italian opera
arias, fused with jazz, as well as music Americana, like Bacharach and
Lennon, and original jazz interpretations of popular Italian songs.
Danilo Rea and
Roberto Gatto have been favorably reviewed in this
magazine before, both in recordings and in performance. They are renowned
for their involvement with Umbria Jazz Festivals, as well as concerts
at the Italian Cultural Institute of New York.
For tonight's "Upstarts!" set at Dizzy's Club, Coca-Cola, the
Trio quickly switched moods from
Danilo Rea's raindrop-like piano melody ("Senza
Fine") to straight, percussive jazz.
Roberto Gatto's drums went into a clavé, bossa nova
beat, and the music became exotic and mysterious, abstract on the heels
of harmony, before it returned to a pulsating swing. The set included
"Senza Fine" (by Gino Paoli), "Honey
Pie" (by Lennon-McCartney), "Close
to You" (by Burt Bacharach), and "Adagio"
(from "La Cavalleria Rusticana" by Pietro Mascagni). "Honey Pie"
featured a generous bass solo by
Joseph
Lepore, merging with
Rea on piano, with
Gatto's barest hint of metal and dramatic drum rolls.
In "Close to You",
Rea took an extended keyboard riff, a rambunctious
and rapid swing.
Rea followed this upbeat song with a meandering, melancholy
theme, backed with
Lepore's
persuasive bass rhythm and
Gatto's cymbal-brush effect. Repetitive melodies merged
through
Rea's Steinway, against a backdrop of bass-drum reverie.
Danilo Rea sped up and down the keyboard with scintillating
scales. Check the
Dizzy's
Club Coca-Cola Website for future dates and artists.
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