GIOVANNI MAIER TECHICOLOR With MARC RIBOT & ZENO DE ROSSI – Featuring Marc Ribot/A Turtle Soup [2 CD set] (Long Song 105; Italy) Featuring Marc Ribot & Simone Massaron on guitars, Giorgio Pacorig & Alfonso
Santimone on keyboards, Giovanni Maier on bass and Zeno De Rossi on drums. It never ceases to amaze how many under-recognized treasures we get here every week from around the world. This is the fourth disc we’ve gotten from the great little Italian label, Long Song, and each one has been a gem. How can you go wrong with the likes of Nels Cline & Elliott Sharp and the swell Amendola/Goldberg/Hoff plays Monk trio?!? The first Long Song disc featured Nels Cline & Simone Massaron on guitars and Giovanni Maier on bass with Daniele Cavallanti as the leader on saxes. For this incredible double disc, Giovanni Maier is the leader with the burning guitars of Marc Ribot & Simone Massaron. Plus our old pal, Zeno De Rossi, who can be found on many discs on the El Gallo Rojo label is on drums.
The first disc features both guitarists and two fine keyboard players. Bassist, Giovanni, wrote all but two of the pieces.
“Segovia” bristles with some sly organ, electric piano and bent, burning guitar(s)! Both keyboardists play Rhodes electric pianos, various organs and other keyboards, and a swell job of creating various moods and textures for the guitarists to solo upon. “This is My Voice” is a spacious, laid-back piece for that mysterious Ribot suspense twang that Marc does so well with eerie echoes of keyboard waves floating in the mist. The band kicks in for “L’Inaferrabile
Fascino…,” which as an infectious melody and layers of rocking guitars and keyboards. “FIFF” is one of the two completely improvised pieces and it works so well since each musician listens well and contributes to the layers on inter-connected lines. This music is a unique rock/jazz hybrid that is difficult to pigeonhole, yet remains intense and creative and focused throughout. “Old File” features some superb electric bass at the center of a Quicksilver-like spaghetti western guitar jam. Downtown guitar hero, Marc Ribot, takes a number of great solos here, showing how there is just no stopping him when he wants to go for the gusto. His solo on “Old File” is just jaw droppingly incredible! Giovanni’s songs are also consistently memorable and remind me of the some of the better bands from the early 70’s, when players still combined various genres without regard to established formulas.