At the ripe age of sixty-one, Sardinian trumpeter Paulo Fresu—renowned within the European Jazz world—continues to accumulate projects. He employs his stunning lyrical and ultra-refined music in a multitude of contexts. Here, he’s accompanied by an old friend, bandoneonist Daniele Di Bonaventura (see Mistico Mediterraneo, released in 2011 on ECM) and two of the most talented musicians on the young Italian scene: double bass player Marco Bardoscia and pianist Dino Rubino. Through his music, Fresu brings to life the words of poet and publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti, a prominent figure within 20th-century American literature who died on 22nd February 2021 at the age of 101. Ferlinghetti was closely linked to the inception of the Beat Generation.
From the very first bars, the listener is totally immersed in a world of subtle elegance. The four musicians maintain sensitivity and musical complicity throughout. They reveal the cinematic poetry and the melancholic atmosphere created by the melodic sumptuousness of Fresu’s trumpet. This effect is enhanced by the tawny colours of the bandoneon in skilfully choreographed impressionist playlets. On occasion, Fresu will demonstrate the deep resonance of his trumpet through electronic effects, as he does in ‘Obscene Boundaries’ and ‘Island of the Mind’. He will enrich his performance by adding sporadic touches of expressionism, but never overstepping his strict, sophisticated framework. The ambience created by the record remains melancholic and intimate. Ultimately, this stunning music is both seductive and refined, constantly resting on the precipice of emotion without ever lapsing into sentimentality. © Stéphane Ollivier