Francesco Rubino & Tommaso Genovesi - Encounters
F
ISULAFACTORY
This album was born from the friendship and shared passion for jazz between two Sicilians, guitarist/composer Francesco Rubino and pianist/composer Tommaso Genovesi. Their compositions cross genres ranging from jazz to world music, rock, prog, and R&B. To create a "musical laboratory" with an experimental feel, they added Loris Amato's drums with a penchant for polyrhythms, and the clarinets plus saxophones of Gaetano Cristofaro.
Opening track NEVROTICA begins with atmospheric found sounds including cries of "Ahoy there!" The angular theme is played by guitar, electric piano and sax, and over 3 mins resolves into a funk groove. A nice bendy and reverberant guitar solo trades short phrases with sax, over fat piano chords.
POSSIBILITA sets up an infectious Steely Dan type groove, then soprano sax plays a strong theme, spiced up with ring-modulated wah guitar. The chord structure moves in eccentric chromatic circles. Another reverb saturated guitar solo leads to a nicely oblique electric piano improvisation.
ORNETTE has another strong theme with a bebop flavour, sax and acoustic piano in unison; it's a convincing homage to Ornette Coleman circa 1959. Good space is created throughout the album by having minimal basslines, played on either guitar or keyboard. Musicians pick up each other's phrases conversationally, combining free blowing with enthusiastic syncopation.
ENCOUNTERS offers dense free playing of 5 instruments via double tracking of soprano and tenor saxes, over a droning root note tonality. It's not unlike the Mothers of Invention circa "Uncle Meat".
SMELL OF SPRING builds over 10 minutes, with a driving funk groove on drums, unison theme on sax and guitar (with electronics), and modal chording on acoustic piano. INFANT has a strong angular sax theme with a hint of Sonny Rollins and a persuasive sonic bed of Rhodes piano and chorused guitar. This is my favourite track, creating a flowing momentum during guitar and sax solos. Instruments build tension and release without getting in each other's way.
BATACLAN is the longest piece at 13 mins; a ring modulated intro is a great curtain raiser to a groove combining drums and electronic fx. Ascending guitar arpeggios have a gamelan feel, over which piano develops a tune. This has the least conventional harmony of the album and almost a 1980s ECM sound. The slightly distorted guitar synth for example, still works as sound candy! At 8.45 there is more space for a very fine piano solo worthy of Chick Corea.
There's a lot to enjoy about this album; strong, memorable themes, inventive playing and interesting tone colours. Drums mostly play time throughout, losing the opportunity for more dynamics, and the format of theme/3 solos/theme reprise is slightly over used, but overall it's well worth a listen.
© Stephen Godsall
Stephen Godsall is a multi-instrumentalist and composer based in Southern England. To find out more go to https://www.youtube.com/@StephenGodsall
