ESM#40

A brief introduction; it still makes sense in 2015 to label the music, that is to want at all costs to differentiate kinds; maybe not and a clear example is the record that we examine which blends different genres to reach an attractive "fusion". This is the year in which "L'Estate di San Martino", the historic group of progressive Umbrian (but young in terms of record because their first album "Alder" was published only in 2006 thanks to renewed interest towards a "kind" which the progressive), celebrates the milestone of 40 years of career and does resumed his game once again; In fact, back in the market with an operation that could certainly seem risky, reread your last job (Talsete of Marsantino, ingenious anagram of the name of the group), according to an unusual pattern noise; I personally witnessed the growth of the product, from the presentation about 18 months ago in concert in a small and pleasant city, until the release of the album in question), and say that he does not "purely and simply", but by a deep change in the arrangements , favoring winds (also thanks to the invaluable contribution of Maestro Francesco Santucci, all-round musician who has managed to give a soul "jazzy" to work, and the introduction of other instruments (delicious percussion and accordion), the disc re-read thus becomes a project to be discovered again and opens the horizon for future work of the band); Talsete, published in 2012, is a work that certainly has its roots in the teachings of some leader of the international prog (Genesis of the first period after Gabriel in the first place), despite a personal search of originality as topics covered including its musical as well as texts, and we appreciate the work of the group that gradually grew to reach an effective executive level; we are pleased to recall in this regard that the group has so embraced the acoustic dimension to start the performance of Stefano Tofi who juggles very well the piano (as already observed in some tests concert), no longer immersed in the many electronic keyboards, but the whole group (Marco Pentiricci, guitars, vocals, woodwinds and harp Celtic, Sergio Servadio on drums, Massimo Baracchi on bass and Riccardo Regi on guitar) and offers a mature test showing that this could be the new path of the "ESM""; of course we must not forget that courtesy of the widow there is once again possible to listen to the wonderful voice in a couple of cameos of the late Francesco Di Giacomo who had already enriched the first version of "Talsete"; happy birthday "ESM", we hope that the future will bring even your new jobs to bring prestige to Italian prog but overall to delight the ears and if about ten years have produced four works of the group wait with confidence the new productions.

With the exception of a stray promo single released three years after the band formed in 1975, Italian band L'Estate di San Martino share a similar history to groups from that country such as Il Cerchio d'Oro - vintage Italian acts who never released a studio album in the period of their initial activity. A belated release of a 1983-recorded live album came in 2006, with a proper studio debut a year later, but the band gained better notice with their last album, 2012's warmly received `Talsete di Marsantino', a rather special pastoral gem with worldly flavours that is fondly remembered. So fondly, in fact, and especially by the band themselves, because they've decided to completely remake the album all over again!

`E.S.M # 40' doubles as a celebration of the fortieth anniversary of L'Estate di San Martino, but while they again present the above-mentioned previous album in the same running order, the highly skilled musicians have completely reinterpreted the material here with great taste and sophistication. It has breathed new life into the work and given it a gentler acoustic personality full of jazzier laid-back passages with controlled improvised jamming bursts, and it even has a fleeting guest vocal spot from the late great Francesco Di Giacomo of legendary RPI group Banco del Mutuo Soccorso on the final track.

Looking at some of the highlights, the brief introduction opener `Silbo' and `Il Cielo per San Lorenzo' float with early Deuter- like meditative flute, and `Archivista' sets a style that maintains throughout much of the disc, with Stefano Tofi's ravishing piano runs, Riccardo Regni's fancy acoustic guitar flair, Marco Pentiricci's purring saxophone, Massimo Baracchi's bass sweetly murmuring in the background and Sergio Servadio's drumming moving between subdued and lively little bursts. `Fretta' is dreamy and wistful with the lightest of introspective moments, and `Ely' is a lonely saxophone rumination that could have easily come from the `Fifth'-era of the Soft Machine.

The inviting piano of `Long Now Clock' has a`brand new day' warmth that reminds of the Seventies albums of American jazz- fusion instrumentalists Oregon, and the group even manages to utilise bagpipes throughout `Hallucigenia' and somehow give them a very exotic flavour! There's plenty of late-night improvisation-heavy sax and piano noodling on `Monolake', the chiming acoustic guitar of `Otto' reminds of those fancy old Genesis interludes, and the album closer is lightly psychedelic with flute drifting in and out of alluring acoustic guitars with breezy warm-weather vibes all around, a sole uplifting vocal from Banco's Francesco wrapping the disc with refinement.

If you're a fan of the first version, please don't instantly dismiss this impossibly pretty re-interpretation as nothing but a mere `remake'. L'estate di San Martino have taken what was already a wondrous work and made it lovelier than ever, and listening in early A.M hours or on an unhurried summer day will reveal an exceptionally beautiful album full of delicate magic and embracing intimacy.

Four stars.