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Schema Rearward: The Reward of Visiting the Past
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Live At Ronnie Scott's: Volcano / Rue Chaptal
2010
Among the jewels in Schema Rearward's catalog are the releases from The Kenny Clarke -Francy Boland Big Band. Pianist Francy Boland and drummer

Kenny Clarke
drums1914 - 1985

Benny Bailey
trumpet1925 - 2005

Johnny Griffin
saxophone, tenor1928 - 2008

Mirrors
2009
The Kenny Clarke -Francy Boland Big Band had an incredible amount of talented musicians. Trumpeter Benny Bailey was one of them and he steps out on his own on the wonderful album Mirrors. He gets help from Francy Boland whose dynamic string arrangements are simply superb. Albums with strings are sometimes in danger of becoming too cerebral or sugary, but Mirrors avoids both of these traps and manages to speak both to the head and the heart. Bailey's warm trumpet blows in the lush setting of the strings that become part of a dynamic landscape with drums, bass, electric piano, saxophones and flute. The result is an album that is both rhythmic and romantic and it belongs in the pantheon of great string albums with saxophonist

Stan Getz
saxophone, tenor1927 - 1991

Clifford Brown
trumpetb.1930

Companionship
2008
Saxophonist and flutist Sahib Shibab plays on Benny Bailey's Mirrors and Bailey shows up among a host of other Boland Big Band-associates on the sessions that comprise the double-album Companionship. The album shows the full range of Shibab's artistry, ranging from the spiritual "Om Mani Padme Hum" that starts out with hypnotic hand drums and moves into swinging territory with dark piano chords and Shibab's singing flute and chanting. "Calypso Blues," on the other hand, is a combination of two pregnant musical styles: calypso and blues. The song combines the lively rhythms of the Calypso with the mournful lyrics of the blues: "Don't got the money to take me back to Trinidad" as one of the lines in the song says. Shibab is perhaps most well-known for his playing with pianist

Thelonious Monk
piano1917 - 1982

Summer Dawn
2008
Summer Dawn is another gem from Sahib Shibab. It opens with the irresistible "Lillemor" that reinvents the rhythm from pianist

Dave Brubeck
piano1920 - 2012

My Point of View
2010
Sahib Shibab is an unsung musician that deserves more recognition and the same could be said about the Italian saxophonist Eraldo Volontè. He is often associated with the second generation of jazz musicians that helped to move jazz in Italy in a new direction. My Point of View was released in 1963 and shows Volontè in top form. The shadow of saxophonist

John Coltrane
saxophone1926 - 1967

Free and Loose
2001
Azzolini turns up again as sideman on Volontè's album Free and Loose. The album was released in 1968, five years after My Point View, and it is a brave exploration of free jazz as the title indicates. Gone are the standards. They are replaced by Volentè's themes that form the basis of four different pieces. One of them is called "Dialogue" and this is exactly what this is: a conversation between highly skilled musicians. The music is free, but Volentè's playing is still deeply soulful as he enters a more undefined territory without the harmonic safety net from the standards. A new order rises in the middle of it all and while the music might be abstract at times, the musicians still know how to swing.

What's Happening?
1966
Bassist Giorgio Azzolini has been an important sideman for Eraldo Volontè, but he is also a charismatic leader in his own right. What's Happening? is one of his albums as a leader where he is playing in a trio with pianist Franco D'Andrea and drummer Franco Tonini. It was released in 1966 and the title track caught the attention of the famous German jazz critic Joachim-Ernst Berendt who said that: "'What's Happening?' for me is one of the most exciting European jazz compositions of this year."
"What's Happening?" is indeed an intriguing composition that starts out with Azzolini playing solo with bow while D'Andrea's piano drips gradually enter. The piano becomes more forceful with the accompaniment of Tonani's drums. There is a moment where Tonani is all alone, but then Azzolini and D'Andrea enter again. Essentially, it is all about listening and this is what these musicians do. They listen and then they see what happens. The album is both traditional and free. In fact, a sensitive reading of the standard "When I Fall in Love" shows how romantic Azzolini and the trio can be.

Crucial Moment
2000
The follow-up to Giorgio Azzolini's album What's Happening? is called Crucial Moment. It was released in 1968, the same year as Eraldo Volentè's Free and Loose, and Azzolini is still exploring the free approach that he shared with Volontè on that album. He is in the company of pianist Franco D'Andrea, who also played with him on What's Happening?, but the most interesting thing is the addition of two top players that many listeners will associate with Italian jazz: drummer

Aldo Romano
drumsb.1941

Enrico Rava
trumpetb.1939

Reincarnation of a Lovebird
2009
Another great Italian bassist is Pietro Ciancaglini who belongs to the contemporary jazz scene in Italy. Mostly Schema Rearward concentrates on the treasures of the past, so in a way it is unusual that the label releases new music. However, it is possible to find contemporary artists in the Schema Rearward catalog and in a way the album Reincarnation of a Lovebird, which was released in 2009, does look back. Ciancaglini pays homage to the legendary bassist and composer

Charles Mingus
bass, acoustic1922 - 1979

Jelly Roll Morton
piano1890 - 1941

Lady Heavy Bottom's Waltz
2008
Pietro Ciancaglini pays tribute to a big man on Reincarnation of a Lovebird. The tenor saxophonist

Johnny Griffin
saxophone, tenor1928 - 2008

Smog
2014
Europeans were lucky to have a capacity like Johnny Griffin on the continent for a long period and fortunately he was not the only American star who visited Europe. The trumpeter

Chet Baker
trumpet and vocals1929 - 1988

Helen Merrill
vocalsb.1929

Quartetto
2014
There is a link between the Quartetto di Lucca and Chet Baker. The group accompanied the trumpeter on different dates in 1959 and it is not hard to understand why Baker would approve of the group when listening to the album Quartetto. The line-up with piano, vibes, bass and drums immediately brings The Modern Jazz Quartet to mind and listeners with a preference for this group will find much to like about the music, but they also got their own thing going. Their version of the familiar "Night in Tunisia" shows how the group could play as fast and swinging as the most hardened be-bopper, but they also take advantage of the tonal delicacy of their instrumentation on the slow reading of the standard "Like Someone in Love" where pianist Vito Tommasi's piano resonates beautifully with Antonello Vanucchi's vibes. Even though the music was recorded in 1962, it still feels fresh. With Schema Rearward it is a reward to visit the past and even the new releases on the label carry a respect for the tradition of jazz.
Tracks and Personnel
Live At Ronnie Scott's: Volcano / Rue Chaptal
Tracks: Box 703, Washington D.C.; Griff's Groove; Volcano; Love Which To No Loved One Permits Excuse For Loving; Now Hear My Meanin'; And Thence We Issued Out Again To See The Stars; Rue Chaptal; I Don't Want Nothing From Nobody And I Ain't Giving N; Sax No End; You Stepped Out Of A Dream; The Minor Blues; The Girl & The Turk; Kenny & Kenny.
Personnel: Kenny Clarke: drums; Francy Boland: piano; Benny Bailey: trumpet; Idrees Sulieman: trumpet; Dusko Gojkovic: trumpet; Tony Fisher: drums; ?ke Persson: trombone; Nat Peck: trombone; Eric Van Lier: trombone; Derek Humble: alto saxophone; Johnny Griffin: tenor saxophone; Ronnie Scott: tenor saxophone; Tony Coe: tenor saxophone, clarinet; Sahib Shibab: baritone saxophone; Ron Matthewson: bass; Kenny Clare: drums.
Mirrors
Tracks: Mirrors; Effluves; Flunkeyania; Subumbra; Everything Happens To Me; At Ronnie's.
Personnel: Benny Bailey: trumpet, flugelhorn; Tony Coe: tenor saxophone, clarinet; Sahib Shibab: baritone saxophone, flute; Francy Boland: piano; Jean Warland: bass; Tony Inzalaco: drums + 12 strings section.
Companionship
Tracks: Om Mani Padme Hum; Bohemia After Dark; Companionship; Stoned Ghosts; Jay Jay; Dijdar; Con Alma; Ct+Cb; The Turk's Bolero; Talk Some Yak-Ee-Dak; Calypso Blues; Balafon; I'm a Fool To Want You; Insensatez; Invitation; Yah Yah Blues; Serenata; Just Give Me Time; Born To Be Blue; Sconsolato.
Personnel: Sahib Shibab: baritone saxophone, flute; Jimmy Woode: bass, vocals; Milt Jackson: vocals; Kenny Clarke: drums; Francy Boland: piano; ?ke Persson: trombone; Benny Bailey: trumpet, flugelhorn; Idrees Sulieman: trumpet; Sadi: percussion, vibraphone.
Summer Dawn
Tracks: Lillemor; Please Don't Leave Me; Waltz For Seth; Campi's Idea; Herr Fixit.
Personnel: Sahib Shibab: alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, flute; Jimmy Woode: bass; Joe Harris: bongo; Kenny Clarke: drums; Francy Boland: piano; ?ke Persson: trombone.
My Point of View
Tracks: Summertime; Oh Green Dolphin Street; You Are a Waver of Dress; So What; Some Other Blues.
Personnel: E. Volontè: tenor saxophone; R. Sellani: piano; G. Azzolini: bass; L. Biondi: drums.
Free and Loose
Tracks: Free And Loose; Dialogue; For Gaslini; Six For Arpo.
Personnel: Eraldo Volontè: tenor saxophone; Oscar Valdambrini: trumpet; Dino Piana: trombone; Giorgio Azzolini: bass; Benoit Charvet: bass; Franco Manzecchi: drums.
What's Happening?
Tracks: Interplay; What's Happening?; when I Fall In Love; Waiting For M.; We Mean The Blues; Tension; Moose The Mooche.
Personnel: Giorgio Azzolini: bass; Franco D'Andrea: piano; Franco Tonani: drums.
Crucial Moment
Tracks: Crucial Moment; Giorvi; Blues Deflection; Beyond The Corner; Free Duet; Israel.
Personnel: Giorgio Azzolini: bass; Franco D'Andrea: piano; Enrico Rava: trumpet; Aldo Romano: drums.
Reincarnation of a Lovebird
Tracks: So Long Eric; Canon; Balarm; Reincarnation Of A Lovebird; Nostalgia In Time Square; Freedom; Moanin'; Jelly Roll; Homage; Haitian Fight Song.
Personnel: Pietro Ciancaglini: double bass; Daniele Tittarelli -alto sax; Max Ionatatenor saxophone; Pietro Lussu -piano; Walter Paoli -drums; Javier Girotto, baritone saxophone.
Lady Heavy Bottom's Waltz
Tracks: Foot Patting; Please Send Me Someone To Love; The Turk's Bolero; Deep Eight; A Handful Of Soul; The Jamf's Are Coming; Lady Heavy Bottom's Waltz.
Personnel: Johnny Griffin: tenor saxophone; Benny Bailey: trumpet, flugelhorn; ?ke Persson: trombone; Sahib Shibab: baritone saxophone; Francy Boland: piano; Jimmy Woode: bass; Kenny Clare: drums; Kenny Clarke: drums.
Smog
Tracks: Smog; Neapolitan Phantasy; Dawn; Hollywood Tonight; California In The Summer; Thinkin' Blues; Smog; Tension; Tops; Alone In A Crowd; Bowling; Twilight in Los Angeles.
Personnel: Chet Baker: trumpet; Helen Merrill: vocal + orchestra conducted and directed by Piero Umiliani.
Quartetto
Tracks: .Quartetto; Soft Winds; Night in Tunisia; Estate '61; Gabry; Blues for Carole N.2; Like Someone in Love; Lullaby of Birdland; West Blues; Estate '58.
Personnel: Giovanni Tommaso: bass; Giampiero Giusti: drums; Vito Tommaso: piano; Antonello Vannucchi: vibraphone.
Tags
Record Label Profiles
Jakob Baekgaard
Italy
Kenny Clarke
Benny Bailey
Johnny Griffin
Stan Getz
Clifford Brown
Thelonious Monk
Dave Brubeck
John Coltrane
Aldo Romano
Enrico Rava
Charles Mingus
Jelly Roll Morton
Chet Baker
Helen Merrill
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