Mimmo Cafiero is a Sicilian: an Italian, of course, but also one tied to local traditions that distinguish his heritage from his fellow countrymen. (Perhaps not unlike an American hailing from the Deep South, who may [or may not] embrace a local memory and customs that complement his shared national culture.)
Cafiero organized the Open Jazz Orchestra in 1992, and this recording features this somewhat amorphous group live in concert less than a decade later performing a varied set of Sicilian tunes. At the time of this recording,
Cafiero had, for ten years, been the co-director of a local music school from which he recruited students and alumni for this performance. In addition,
Cafiero attracted two established colleagues, pianist
Salvatore Bonafede and soprano saxophonist
Stefano D'Anna, each providing improvisational highlights on the album. Not all the musicians appear on every track, and the band sometimes seems smaller than it actually is. Well rehearsed and sounding professional in every way, the Open Jazz Orchestra performs
Cafiero's often conventional, though sinewy and not always easy, arrangements with little apparent difficulty, the result, one suspects, of considerable preparation. While not approaching the collective virtuosity or radical charm of the more famous, non-Sicilian
Italian Instabile Orchestra, the Open Jazz Orchestra does a fine job of showcasing the work of one of Sicily's important modern writers and his associates. ~ Steven Loewy