Behind Tales of Love and Death lies a simple idea that had rarely
been put to such convincing use: to bring together jazz and
operatic singing. Eugenio Colombo brought his current quartet to
the studio (Colombo on saxophones and flutes, Gianni Lenoci on
piano, Ettore Fioravanti on drums, Bruno Tommaso on bass) along
with Micaela Carosi, Masha Carrera, and Elisabetta Scatarzi, three
classically trained opera singers. Tales of Love and Death
comprises two Colombo compositions: "Toxon," based on a scene from
The Odyssey, and "Giuditta," based on the apocryphal Book of
Judith. A Colombo/Tommaso improvisation serves as an interlude.
"Toxon" opens on a jazz-rock number very reminiscent of Canterbury
prog rockers Hatfield and the North, but soon the music shifts to a
ground where contemporary classical, Verdi, tango, and avant-garde
jazz meet. Inspired by the ancient themes of Greek Gods and the
Bible, Colombo embedded his music with some of the spirit of
ancient ritualistic music, both profane and sacred. The listener
catches references (actually, more moods than references) to
African tribal music, Italian pagan songs, and religious chants.
Therefore, the music shifts from solemn to cheerful, but always
remains deep and somewhat serious. More than a genre exercise, this
is breakthrough material, genre-bending, ears-opening. The only
comparable work would be Canadian singer Karen Young's "Canticum
Canticorum," where she blended Arabic traditional music with jazz
and contemporary classical in a large-scale work based on this book
from the Bible. The idea was similar but the results are quite
different, with Colombo being jazzier and avant-gardist. Strongly
recommended, especially for jazz listeners with an ear for operatic
voices. ~ Fran‡ois Couture
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