Angelo Olivieri - Caos Musique (Terre Sommerse, 2008) ****½

French virtuoso cellist Vincent Courtois joins a trio led by Angelo Olivieri on trumpet, with Marco Ariano on drums, percussions and objects, and with Antonio Pulli on interactive electronics. The latter one's blips and bleeps can be heard on only a few tracks, but most pieces are just acoustic. Olivieri is a trumpeter with a very mainstream sound, with a warm round tone, but the music is a wonderful mixture of jazz, traditional Italian folk music, old blues, not mainstream at all, but quite creative and innovative without being avant-garde or free, although there are elements of those too. Like Dave Douglas' Tiny Bell Trio, the pleasure is to be found in the playful interaction between the musicians for quite modest little compositions, that change mode, rhythm and melody all the time. There is nothing broad, wide or expansive in the music, quite to the contrary, it is human, vulnerable, expressing emotions that we all share: melancholy, fun, joy, sadness and fear, often contradictory at the same time. The many references to old music, like movie soundtracks from the fifties, or popular songs our grandparents enjoyed, give the compositions a kind of universal touch, while its focus on the little detail and the unpredictable evolution of the pieces give it a very modern feeling. This is about you and me. Musically recognisable, emotionally recognisable, close and intimate, yet fresh and creative. And absolutely great in how it brings the everyday human reality to life, even if small and parochial, but with truckloads of sympathy and understanding.

Listen to an excerpt from "Chernobyl's Lullaby"


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