IL BARICENTRO

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.

Let me start off by saying that the album Sconcerto by Il Baricentro is much better quality music than their other record Trusciante-this album is really the one to have.

I stumbled across a stray lp copy of this astounding music by chance in a used record store. That was in 1989, and Sconcerto has stood the test of time very well. The music is very keyboard oriented, what with two keyboard players. This album is much more to the point, and better played, than a lot of Italian groups of the time, even though they had some stiff competition.

For me, on this album, Il Baricentro have always epitomized how an Italian keyboard-based group could really play in that perfect way where each track, and each note is just so right-the right kind of playing, producing just the right kind of synergy, and producing the right kind of emotion, really doing everything just a bit better than other, similar groups.

Sconcerto has no vocals, and does not need them-all you need to do is revel in their instrumental world-once you are in it, you are left spellbound. This album of theirs is more jazz influenced than the other one, but that element is not really overwhelming or extreme. To me, they do sound like Italian prog with somewhat of a jazz influence. In a nutshell, Sconcerto is a lost gem that is under-rated and full of music that should be available to be heard by many more people than it currently does-listen to the music at hand, and you will see what i mean! Five stars.

If I could give this 3.5 stars I would. Being a huge fan of the Italian scene, as well as fusion in particular, this one didn't really deliver a lot of meat. So why the 3.5 stars? The musicianship and production quality are top-notch, so it's a great "sounding" album. But while it does a fine job of mining the Weather Report meets the Italian sun schtick, its songs are a bit far from overly memorable.

The band have a tight, energetic sound but too often take a "proggy groove" and milk it a little too far. More developed and structured solos might have helped balance the songs against what is a great rhythm section that drives the album. I haven't heard the second album that's a follow up to this, would be curious if their songwriting took a leap forward or if they still rested on their (considerable) muscianship.

Three of the band members here used to be in a band called FESTA MOBILE who put out one album that i'm a big fan of. On this project they have turned to a Jazz direction and called themselves IL BARICENTRO. They are from Italy and they put out two albums with this being their debut. I must say the first time I listened to this I really didn't want to play it a second time.The dual keyboards are so light sounding and wimpy much of the time that I just didn't want to listen to it again. I've now heard it 6 times and am actually impressed with the way these guys play but the keyboard sounds keep me from giving this 4 stars.

The first track is by far the best.This self titled beauty recalls WEATHER REPORT with all those intricate sounds coming and going. It's just a feast to the ears.The drumming is really good. "Lido Bianco" opens with some atmosphere before the keys and synths dominate. We don't get a melody until after 3 minutes.

I really like the intro and drumming in "Meridioni E Paralleli", although the keys are too light. "Afka" has a funky rhythm with light synths playing over top. Lots of piano in "Pietre Di Luna". "Della Venis" is slower paced with lots of synths and piano. "Comunque...(Todo Modo)" is more uptempo with a good beat.

So yes this is a good album but for me it's not that great.

The second and last Il Baricentro album reinforces the jazz-fusion trend that had already been dominantly relevant for the band's debut effort. Here, in "Trusciant", it is quite clear that the combo led by the Boccuzzi brothers has a strong focus on the funky jazz framework that was at the moment functioning in the limelight of American NE and NW coasts' musical scenes. The resulting sonic amalgam is adequately augmented with an exotic swing by two guest percussionists, which help Il Baricentro lean closer to Santana and Traffic in places. The percussion section is enhanced, but still there is a prevalence of the harmonies and constructed solos by the two keyboardists. The rhythm duo of drummer Mangini and bassist Napolitano also makes itself noticed through the nuclear jams of each track. This whole introductory description is perfectly valid for tracks 1, 3 & 5, all of them catchy, up-tempo and not really long, filled with pleasant melodic developments and properly delivered in tight rhythmic schemes. All in all, this is not the whole story, since the few moments in which the lyrical symphonic factor makes itself featured (either opposite or together with the jazz-funky ambience) remind us of how genuinely Italian this band is. The namesake track (which happens to be my fave one from the album, actually) comprises beautiful evocative piano passages that eventually pave the way for the installation of a motif of flourishing textures that effectively state a sort of combination of "Ultima Cena"-era Banco and Weather Report. This lyrical accentuation will also appear on the last 2 numbers, which show the usual dose of elegance and polished finesse that these musicians have gotten us used to; on the other hand, the jazz element is more notorious in these pieces than on 'Trusciant'. 'Akua' is the most serene track in the album, being a soft, crepuscular ballad whose grayish melancholy serves as a counterpart to the album's predominantly colorful moods. Even though I don't enjoy this album as much as the band's debut release, it too has to be regarded as a very good item in any good prog collection. Il Baricentro is underrated among prog connoisseurs, but they shouldn't be.

Excellent!

This is to my ears an enjoyable album that any jazz fusion follower would love, another great non- symphonic Italian band, some of those hidden gems that come from this country, but first of all i want to thank to a friend of mine who is also a member here, Jesus (cucacola54) because he introduced me to this band last year when i went to his city to a concert, i asked him for some recommendations and he rightly talked me about Il Baricentro.

Recently when i also discovered Festa Mobile, i knew that Il Baricentro was a band formed after the dead of the Festa Mobile project, Francesco and Vanni Bocuzzi along with Toni Napolitano were members of it, but contrary to the symphonic oriented style that Festa Mobile offered, this new band created instrumental progressive rock totally oriented to the jazz fusion side of it, the band first released Sconcerto which to be honest i have not listened yet, and in 1978 they made Trusciant which is what i will review in a second, sadly, Il Baricentro was only one of those italian bands that disbanded after one or two albums when they really had a potential to create more music, anyway they left this gem and i am happy to listen to it.

Trusciant is a 7-song album where there are no weak moments at all, on the other hand, there are moments that could be described as flawless, the album is short indeed, one or two more songs wouldn`t have done any harm, but when the music is as great as this, the lenght is the less important.

Karwan is a great opener, it has a sensational feeling that makes me be happy when i listen to it and actually move my body with the rythm of the song, the keyboards are very nice played and the drumming has that obvious jazz and funky style. Trusciant is very different from the previous one, while at yhe beginning we have a delicate piano work, then it turns into some funeral drumming and good keyboard playing, the second part of the song has the more obvious jazz flavour, then it fades out with some piano notes. Falo is a manific track that i like a lot due to its (again) happy feeling, this time we listen to some percussion that reminds me to some latinamerican music, the bass playing is very nice and then it has some good guitar riffs. Akua is a very soft track, i wouldn`t say this is an example of progressive rock, but it fits corectly with the album`s essence, this track is very melodic and well structured, nice keyboards and bass. Flox is another excellent track, its impossible not to think about Weather Report when listening to it, of course if you already know them, the Weather Report feeling is really clear in this song. Font`Amara a 7-minute song which of course is the longest song of the album and believe me it is delightful, really enjoyable and you can notice the quality of the musicians here, the best track of the album without hesitation. Vivo is the last but not least track, a nice closer whose first piano part reminds me a bit to some Wakeman`s works, then the song turns completely into a jazzy one, just like the way the band used to play.

A short but great jazz fusion album from a very nice and not typical italian prog band of the seventies, i invite everyone to listen to them, and actually i am a bit worried to see this album has only one review written 3 years ago!!! Excellent album without a doubt, recommendable to any prog lover, 4 stars my final grade!

Enjoy it!

A "sconcert" that's full of vitamins, juicy stuff, drifting talent and consistent music - and of progressive rock, kudos to the mixture of 70s rock and original jazz creating a warm combination of colors and liquid fireworks; this is how Baricentro's first album (far from calling it a simple debut, it's too strong) sounds like, down the more or less usual path of jazz-rock, fusion heat, electric melodism and rock composer. Its field isn't powerful enough to bring a swell impression, its pleasure, instead, is half the great quality that's installed in this album.

Despite that almost all the members have come from playing in a band (Festa Mobile and its rock nucleus), plus from an early field of rock and vanilla-jazz, Il Baricentro's moment sounds fresh, far-dropped and confines an artistic intensity and pattern from, mostly, a world of technique and shining expressions (and, more importantly, from a wisdom of emotion dominating the fuse and the rhythms, and gallantry dominating over too simple or straight improvisations). Sconcerto, most especially, shines as something natural, even pastured, still fired and fusion-flickered most of the times. Both the traditional and the nonconformist, the somber and the fun, the hypnotic and the light, the radical and the alternative musical tastes are merged in a mellow point, where good music also means a lot of sensual slide, and the jazz/fusion technique is one small step close to a spiritual and healthy art. The key to Sconcerto's good mood is how intense, instead of remarkable, and imaginative, even if not original, the scores abounds. The rest is either good or tranquill, either fascinating or too plain, either creative or vicious.

It seems interesting how each of the four artists play a percussion role; nevertheless, the Bocuzzi brothers create out of the keyboards a state of the art - and the strongest link to fusion and electric jazz, too. The great idea of fusion can sound different to each and every one who listens to Sconcerto, meaning that there's a bit of freedom and good taste in the jam, unrelated to anything particular or too shabby - but references could make you think of Weather Report and their key/fusion/funk-tap, of Return To Forever and their bit of prolific "feathery" jazz, of Mahavishnu and some sticky accents, of PFM and symphonic rock bands that play an airy taste of attractive art. The link with Keith Emerson (mentioned in many places) comes to a true sense when Baricentro's jam is aggressive and plastic (my best example being to think of "Blues Variation" from ELP's Pictures..., where Emerson sweats on a same vibrating and high-pitch Mellotron). In short and conclusive words about Sconcerto's style, its jazz/fusion is more different and moderately rocking, while it's natural high-marks of (Italian) symphonic are spontaneous and gusting.

Few words are left to be said about each of the seven precious pieces, since they all are part of the same consistent concept and vibrating rhythm, sketching a diversity of moods and colors thanks to the set of melodic, emotions and elastic improvisations. The fusion of Baricentro drops heavy, but not immense, in every minute, the great undulations being when the music is atmospheric or has an obscure crust (Della Venis), dominating and insatiable rhythm (Afka) or when a drop of pop makes the music sensibly light (Meridioni e Paralleli).

Sconcerto can't be called an easy winner, but something from its pleasant and juicy art makes it all worth.

"Sconcerto" is, first of all, a very beautiful and tasteful album, that reveals Il Baricentro as what it is in its purest form, a proficient jazz-rock ensemble with a very strong melodic sense and with a capability to do energetic interplaying in a most colorful manner. The two keyboardists, brothers Boccuzzi, stay well away from the mutual dueling scheme; on the contrary, they use their combined keyboard inputs (mostly pianos and synthesizers, with a noticeable deal of clavinet and harpsichord, and occasionally, some room for organ, too) as portrayers of the candid melodic ideas and elegant textures that keep coming around with the sonic flow. They seem to intend to act as subtle leaders of the band, making the effective rhythm duo come to the fore with their excellent foundations, while they pull the musical strings (well, ivories to be more precise) without showing off. The way that the rhythm section provides swing and groove to all the individual pieces helps the cadence to become a most important element of enhancement for the melodies. The opening namesake track serves as the perfect Baricentro sample for the neophyte. Let me add that I find the presence of the harpsichord in this fusion-esque amalgam quite intriguing: its crystalline vibrato helps the track to preserve an aura of distinction among the groove. This was actually my first Baricentro experience, the track that made me fall in love with this band's proposal. Further ahead, 'Afka' is more focused on the funky trend, while 'Meridioni e Paralleli' and 'Comunque' make a sort of compromise between jazz-fusion and funky - as usual, all well accomplished, very close to what Weather Report was doing at the time in the USA. On the softer side of things, 'Lido Bianco' shows the most academic side of Il Baricentro's ideology: this track is the closest to standard symphonic prog that this band can get. In fact, this track somewhat reminds me of "Ultima Cena"-era Banco del Mutuo Soccorso. 'Pietre di Luna' is plainly beautiful, an evocative serenade instilled with melancholy that needs no lyrics to create emotions in the listener's soul. 'Della Venis' is yet another serene track, ethereal and melodically pristine. These softer tracks are cohesively harmonized with the album's repertoire as a whole. So, all in all, "Sconcerto" is a potential excellent addition for the collections of those who love a strong dose of jazz in their prog, or, mutatis mutandis, those jazz-fusion freaks with a progressive sensibility.

This Italian funky progressive/fusion album is absolutely charming and funny. The influences are so numerous that it is impossible to mention all of them. The miscellaneous keyboards and percussions are very nervous and complex; the keyboards can be also very floating and relaxing. There are rhythmic piano, moog solos a la Triumvirat, rhythmic organ, and the album has an obvious jazzy/funky influence a la Weather Report of the 70's. The VERY elaborated, precise and fast drums have a structured Phil Collins' or Bill bruford's style of the mid 70's. There are TONS of miscellaneous Latin & African percussions. The bass is quite loud and elaborated. The album is fully instrumental.

The first track "Karwan" is very rhythmic and nervous; it contains rhythmic organ & piano, vibraphone-like melodies and TONS of carnivalesque drums & percussions. The second track "Trusciant" begins with an excellent Baroque piano part a la John Tout (Renaissance), then the music becomes quite structured and rhythmic, with a military drumming and fast electric piano notes a la PFM's "Chocolate Kings"; some fast keyboards reminds me some Eddie Jobson's solos with UK. The piano solo is very jazzy and elaborated. There is even a short weird bit which recalls me the Goblin's "Suspiria" album! "Falo'" is a very rhythmic and pleasant track to listen; the elaborated & joyful rhythmic piano, the drums, the bass, the electric guitars and the percussions are perfectly synchronized. The "Akua" track is very mellow and relaxing: it contains ethereal & echoed moog notes, delicate piano, drums and percussions: it slightly reminds me a more simple mellow part of the Happy The Man of the 70's. The next track "Flox" has a Brand X and Weather Report sound and style, with wah-wah electric piano, Collins-esque drums in an overall funky Carnival atmosphere. The first mellow and floating part on the "Font'amara" track has a bit the sound of a relaxing Pat Metheny's track with Lyle Mays on piano and on floating keyboards. The VERY fully interlocking second part contains excellent harpsichord, rhythmic piano, organ and moog: it is an absolute demonstration of perfect synchronization: it ends with a delightful & rhythmic combination of clavinet, acoustic & electric piano. The last track "Vivo" has a piano intro comparable to Keith Emerson's work; the track then continues with an impressive fast & jazzy piano & drums performance, well supported by a loud and punchy bass. The album is unfortunately short: around 32 minutes.

Rating: 4.5 stars