ALL YOU CAN EAT

I love this musical world because it is endless and always surprising you with new discoveries; and though I had already heard of Slivovitz, honestly I had not listened carefully to their music until this new 2015 album entitled All You Can Eat came to my hands. Released under Moonjune Records label, this Italian combo offers the listener a quite adventurous journey through experimental jazz and fusion, in whose 47 minutes of time, your ears will be completely satisfied.

The journey begins with "Persian Nights", a track that fuses jazz with avant-garde, in which the band makes a progressive, powerful song whose intensity increases while the seconds pass. The wind instruments create wonderful nuances, while violin adds cadency and guitars energy. Later it slows down and the trumpet appears, taking us a bit back to those Miles' years; later it progresses again and the last minute is truly exciting. This is a great opening song! "Mani in Faccia" has an exquisite blend of elements, while sax and trumpet put the energy, violin adds softness, and guitar quirkiness. I am not an expert on jazz, so I cannot tell you which style does Silvovitz play, however, I believe it is a quite original act that would please anyone's ears.

"Yahtzee" has a much softer beginning, without a clear structure, but a nice experimental passage. Then after two minutes, drums enter and introduce a new rhythm while saxophone plays a delicious sound. In the second part, guitar is what takes our attention, you will notice it. Though "Passannante" is the shortest track here, I must say it is one of the most interesting ones, due to that avant-jazz sound full of pauses and changes, showing us a very clever composition. Here we can also appreciate a new element: harmonica, an element which is uses also in "Barotrauma", a softer track that reminds me a bit of some 70s jazz and Canterbury passages mainly in the first part.

I believe "Hangover" is probably the friendliest track here, I mean, the easiest to dig and to listen, not so experimental and with a soft rhythm than any fan of music could enjoy. A nice one, but not my favorite track definitely. On the other hand, "Currywurst" became my favorite one since the second time I listened to the album. I love how its rhythm caught me, making me move my head and body with this mixture of jazz, fusion and even blues, implemented of course, by harmonica and guitars. The album finishes with "Oblio" which offers in the first minutes the softer side of Slivovitz, but later it becomes heavier with the electric guitar, so I believe this track sums up what their music is about.

I have played this album with some friends who have enjoyed it, because it is great, which is why I invite you to listen to Slivovitz and if get this release from their bandcamp site, or from Moonjune Records. My final grade, four stars.

Enjoy it!

Some four years on from their second album 'Bani Ahead', this the Italian masters of progressive gypsy electro-eclectic jazz returned in 2015 with 'All You Can Eat'. As with their previous album. this is again fully instrumental, primarily because there is just no room at all for any vocals. They just wouldn't fit! Yet again there had been a slight line-up change, with bassist Domenico Angarano making way for Vincenzo Lamagna. Here is band that is continuing to push the boundaries of progressive jazz rock, taking the likes of Zappa into areas that even he hadn't thought of. Ricccardo Villari (electric and acoustic violin) has obviously been heavily influenced by the great St'phane Grappelli, but whereas he normally only had to battle against a guitarist (admittedly he made his career working opposite one of the greatest of all time), here we also have a sax player, a trumpeter, plus Derek Di Perri on harmonica. Derek isn't a blues wailer either, he is short and sharp, tying in the rest of the brass to provide a structured wall for the others to play against.

There are times when the guys are languid, structured, layered, all taking their time to add their touches to the music, while at others they are battling, with the brass and violin competing against the electric guitar to see who can be the most dominant and have major impact. Then behind it all Salvatore Rainone is keeping it all together on the drums, and Vincenzo has a wonderfully warm bass sound and feel that provides the foundation for the others. The title suggests that there is room here for over-indulgence, and the musicians, both individually, and collectively, do push proceedings well into the realm of excess, allowing themselves the joy complex arrangements and dramatic compositional shifts and transitions, until they are finally satiated and there just isn't space for another morsel. Moonjune Records keep releasing amazing albums by fine artists, and this is yet another.