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Giuseppe Venezia: I've Been Waiting For You

By Neil Duggan
October 18, 2024
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Giuseppe Venezia: I've Been Waiting For You

One of the crucial abilities for a jazz bassist is to blend a group together; regardless of who is playing or soloing, they usually provide rhythmic or harmonic support. So when a bassist acts as leader, they have an intriguing viewpoint around which instrument should play when, and how to structure ensemble compositions for best effect. Italian bassist

Giuseppe Venezia

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Giuseppe Venezia has over 20 years of international experience to call upon to demonstrate this. He makes it count across his seven compositions on the album I've Been Waiting For You.

Venezia was mentored in the U.S. by

Gerald Cannon

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Gerald Cannon and his first release, Infinity (Skidoo, 2013), was in a piano trio with

Emmet Cohen

piano
b.1990

" data-original-title="" title="">Emmet Cohen. He has since played with

Enrico Rava

trumpet
b.1939

" data-original-title="" title="">Enrico Rava,

Mike LeDonne

organ, Hammond B3
b.1956

" data-original-title="" title="">Mike LeDonne and

Joe Farnsworth

drums
b.1968

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Farnsworth. Joining him to make up a quintet are some of the best Italian musicians: trumpeter

Fabrizio Bosso

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Fabrizio Bosso (significant collaborations include

Charlie Haden

bass, acoustic
1937 - 2014

" data-original-title="" title="">Charlie Haden and

Carla Bley

piano
1938 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Carla Bley), pianist

Bruno Montrone

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Bruno Montrone (

Kurt Rosenwinkel

guitar
b.1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Kurt Rosenwinkel,

Jim Snidero

saxophone, alto
b.1958

" data-original-title="" title="">Jim Snidero), drummer

Pasquale Fiore

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Pasquale Fiore (

Antonio Farao

piano
b.1965

" data-original-title="" title="">Antonio Farao,

Scott Hamilton

saxophone, tenor
b.1954

" data-original-title="" title="">Scott Hamilton) and the versatile multi-instrumentalist

Attilio Troiano

saxophone, tenor

" data-original-title="" title="">Attilio Troiano on tenor saxophone and flute.

Venezia sets the scene with a neat bass improvisation before moving on to the driving, hard bop-influenced "Messaggeri." Bosso's trumpet solo is fast and free-flowing before the baton passes to Troiano's tenor sax. They drive the swing, Montrone solos and Fiore delivers blistering drum breaks. After that storm comes the welcome ballad, "I've Been Waiting For You." Inspired by Venezia's son, this has a delightful flute melody played by Troiano. Bosso joins and the two alternate improvisations, never straying too far from the melody and melding around Venezia's lyrical touch.

"Song for Gerald," inspired by Cannon, Venezia's mentor and friend, shows Venezia's leadership skills. Like a top Premier League football manager, he chooses the right time to deploy his stars and gives them the freedom to express themselves. They take full advantage. "Just a Line From the Past" is an interesting ballad which opens with Montrone's romantic piano and then revolves around the contrast of Bosso's sweet melodic trumpet and Troiano's faster-paced sax delivery. They both pick up on the faster pace and explore. Venezia's solo finds him at his expressive best before Bosso slows to close.

As might be guessed, "Blue Bird" is a blues-based

Charlie Parker

saxophone, alto
1920 - 1955

" data-original-title="" title="">Charlie Parker tribute. It moves along at a fast speed with agile, high-energy contributions, especially from Bosso, who flies on this. The album closes with "The Shortest Story." Bosso begins with a neat trumpet melody which builds as the rhythm hints at bossa nova, before Troiano's fine flute work takes over. Montrone excels through his solo and Venezia finds some reflective sinuous moments before trumpet and flute combine.

Venezia's compositions are mature and thoughtful and his ensemble writing ability shines through. His bass playing is versatile and expressive throughout the album and his cohesion with Fiore acts as the nexus for the first-class contributions from his other collaborators. Their interplay and passion bring excitement as they joyfully swing through these tunes, making this a successful straight-ahead session with a vintage-era feel.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Prelude To A Message; Messaggeri; I've Been Waiting For You; Song For Gerald; Just A Line From The Past; Blue Bird; The Shortest Story.

Personnel

Giuseppe Venezia

bass

Fabrizio Bosso

trumpet

Attilio Troiano

saxophone, tenor

Bruno Montrone

piano

Pasquale Fiore

drums

Additional Instrumentation

Attilio Troiano: flute (2-7).

Album information

Title: I've Been Waiting For You | Year Released: 2024 | Record Label: GleAM Records

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