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Il Baricentro - Sconcerto CD (album) cover

SCONCERTO

Il Baricentro

 

Jazz Rock/Fusion

3.76 | 55 ratings

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seventhsojourn
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
4 stars I've visited Italy only once, back in the day and on a journey across Europe with one of those student rail ticket thingies. On the Paris-Venice leg of our journey my buddy and I stopped off in Turin where we overindulged just a little on chianti, so that by the time of our late arrival in Venice we were only fit to crash out on the concrete steps outside the train station. Early the next morning one of the local Carabinieri wakened me rather rudely with a friendly cherry blossom enema - Glasgow dialect for a boot up the backside.

The scary thing about the Italian police, unlike Scotland's finest who are unarmed, is that those guys carry submachine guns slung over the shoulder. The sight of which is guaranteed to revive your dulled senses swiftly. Anyway, I look forward to hopefully returning to Italy one day and on that occasion not travelling slum-class but in the meantime I'll have to make do with albums such as 'Sconcerto', which convey the warmth and colour of southern Europe in a way that is as welcoming as an Italian sunset.

Having said all that, this album arguably has more of New York about it instead of Rome or Florence. Despite their RPI beginnings - most of these guys played together in Festa Mobile - Il Baricentro clearly craved a more Americanised jazz fusion. While Festa Mobile's only album contained some traits of jazz, 'Sconcerto' represented a complete transgression from 'typical' Italian prog and I reckon that if Il Baricentro had been from the States they might have been on a par with the likes of Weather Report and Return To Forever.

The guys in Il Baricentro typically express themselves through exuberant melodies although there are one or two points of departure like the laid back 'Della Venis' and the slowly evolving 'Lido Bianco', the longest track at just over the 10-minute mark. Their core sound comes from the Boccuzzi brothers' twin keyboards; they make use of all manner of the beasts and from the get-go of the opening track we're treated to some superb electric piano and harpsichord criss-crossed with synthesizer and clavinet.

Highly recommended jazz fusion from Italy. It's my understanding that the CD is now out of print so don't dawdle if you see one.

seventhsojourn | 4/5 |

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