Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Enrico Pieranunzi & Bert Joris: Chet Remembered

Enrico Pieranunzi & Bert Joris: Chet Remembered

By Chris May
June 23, 2023
View read count

Enrico Pieranunzi & Bert Joris: Chet Remembered

Chet Remembered is the second disc the pianist

Enrico Pieranunzi

piano
b.1949

" data-original-title="" title="">Enrico Pieranunzi has recorded with a big band in as many years. Both are what used to be called "concept albums." 2022's offering, Blues & Bach (Challenge), was made with the Orchestra Filarmonica Italiana, and celebrated the compositions of

John Lewis

piano
1920 - 2001

" data-original-title="" title="">John Lewis, mainly those Lewis recorded with the

Modern Jazz Quartet

band / ensemble / orchestra
b.1952

" data-original-title="" title="">Modern Jazz Quartet. It is a lovely disc.

Lovely, too, is Chet Remembered, made with the Frankfurt Radio Big Band, conducted by trumpeter

Bert Joris

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Bert Joris, on which Pieranunzi salutes

Chet Baker

trumpet and vocals
1929 - 1988

" data-original-title="" title="">Chet Baker, with whom he toured, and less frequently recorded, on and off between 1979 and Baker's passing in 1988.

Most of the nine tunes, all composed by Pieranunzi and arranged by Joris, are among those Pieranunzi recorded with, and in some cases composed for, Baker. The four earliest of these come from the first album Pieranunzi made with Baker, Soft Journey (Edipan, 1980): "Soft Journey," "Fairy Flowers," "Night Bird" (which became a staple of Baker's live performances) and "Brown Cat Dance." The latest is "Echoes," which Pieranunzi and Baker recorded for Silence (Soul Note, 1989), an album which was released under

Charlie Haden

bass, acoustic
1937 - 2014

" data-original-title="" title="">Charlie Haden's name.

In his liner notes, Pieranunzi says that playing with Baker "caused an enormous change in my playing." This is not opportunistic b.s. wheeled out to promote Chet Remembered. In 2005, in an interview with Matthew Ruddick for Ruddick's monumental Funny Valentine: The Story Of Chet Baker (Melrose Books, 2012), Pieranunzi went into some detail about which things, precisely, he had learnt from Baker. Economy of notes and an emphasis on melody were, unsurprisingly, chief among them.

Both those qualities are to the fore in Pieranunzi's playing on Chet Remembered, and they are also key to the success of Joris' arrangements These are mellifluous without ever being saccharine or rococo. They are also rhythmically vigorous, a facet of Baker's playing which is often passed over. The album's highlight is, perhaps, "Soft Journey." In the notes, Pieranunzi says he was so taken with it when Baker and he recorded it that he took the trouble to transcribe Baker's solo a few hours after the session. Here, Joris' arrangement harmonises and orchestrates that solo and uses it as the springboard for his own. (At the time of writing, there is no YouTube clip of the Pieranunzi/Joris recording of "Soft Journey," so below is a YouTube of the Baker/Pieranunzi version).

Finally, mention of solos prompts acknowledgement of others on the album. Most are by Pieranunzi and Joris, and bear clear traces of Baker's style, reworked in personal ways. There are also some memorable choruses from alto saxophonist

Heinz-Dieter Sauerborn

saxophone, alto

" data-original-title="" title="">Heinz-Dieter Sauerborn and bassist

Hans Glawischnig

bass
b.1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Hans Glawischnig, whose pretty pizzicato outing on "Chet" is particularly delightful.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

From E. To C.; Lost And Found; Chet; Soft Journey; Fairy Flowers; Night Bird; Echoes; Brown Cat Dance; The Real You.

Personnel

Enrico Pieranunzi

piano

Bert Joris

trumpet

Hans Glawischnig

bass

Jean Paul H?chst?dter

drums

Frankfurt Radio Big Band

band / ensemble / orchestra

Additional Instrumentation

Heinz-Dieter Sauerborn: alto saxophone, flute; Katharina Brien: alto saxophone, clarinet; Denis Gabel: tenor saxophone, clarinet; Steffen Weber: tenor saxophone, clarinet; Reiner Heute: baritone saxophone; Frank Wellert: trumpet, flugelhorn; Thomas Vogel: trumpet, flugelhorn; Martin Auer: trumpet, flugelhorn; Axel Schlosser: trumpet, flugelhorn; Gunter Bollman: trombone; Felix Fromm: trombone; Christian Jaksjo: trombone, valve trombone; Robert Hedemann: bass trombone.

Album information

Title: Chet Remembered | Year Released: 2023 | Record Label: Challenge Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Kahil El'Zabar: What It Is!
< Previous

Travels
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.