PERIGEO

Perigeo's sophomore studio album. It's nice to see the band's lineup stay the same from their debut album as I am curious to watch their development both as a band as well as virtuoso musicians.

1. "Non c'é Tempo da Perdere" (8:48) vocal-led up-tempo jazz-rock that starts out with a long intro of instrumental roaming as piano and cymbals feeling around beneath the ethereal male vocals. Reminds me of some of Tony Williams' compositions. I like Franco D'Andrea's Fender Rhodes style, but drummer Bruno Biriaco grabs most of my attention throughout this one. (18/20)

2. "Déjà Vu" (4:58) I know that I'm hearing an uncredited violin in the lead during the intro to this song. So who was it? Piano and guitar arpeggi provide the initial support for the sax (and continued violin). I really like the unconventional melody lines throughout this one--more jazz like than rock--like a Coltrane or Magma piece. (9.25/10)

3. "Rituale" (7:31) great jam that just sucks the listener in deeper as it builds and builds. Kind of like a classic Traffic (Stevie Winwood), Allman Brothers or Joe Cocker jam. I just love this! It's so fun--and so funky! (15/15)

4. "Abbiamo Tutti un Blues da Piangere" (6:08) acoustic guitars (two tracks) on display for the first minute before bass takes the lead over some very gently-picked steel-string guitar. Keys first make a mark at the two-minute mark (with cymbals) but only a couple chords for the first 30-seconds, then full complement of toms and Fender Rhodes join in as the full band kicks into sync. Soprano sax takes the lead from the three-minute mark over some awesome bluesy-jazz groovin'. So solid! Too bad I'm not more of a fan of the saxophone family. (8.875/10)

5. "Country" (3:03) more keyboard-centred DEODATO-and DONALD FAGEN-like music. Quite ( (9.25/10)

6. "Nadir" (3:46) gentle Fender Rhodes with equally gentle saxophone over the top. Switch in the second minute to fiery electric guitar teaming up with the sax to carry the melody forward. I really like American-born guitarist Tony Sidney's fire! (9.5/10)

7. "Vento, Pioggia e Sole" (9:40) It feels obvious to me that American-born guitarist Tony Sidney had been hearing either John McLaughlin or Cervello's Corrado Rustici because his guitar playing has progressed in directions reflecting this style of pyrotechnical flourishing. Such solid drum and bass play throughout. Great jazz piano solo in the last quarter of the song. (18/20)

I don't get why some reviewers have rated this album lower than their debut as I see no flaws or weaknesses in this album. Keyboard artist Franco D'Andrea's playing is far more supportive, serving in a mostly accompanying fashion than flashy noodling, which is fine, but, knowing that he develops into such a virtuosic solo jazz piano artist makes one wonder what was going on with him during the composition and recording of this session. Tony Sidney's guitar and Claudio Fasoli's sax seem to take far more of the lead/front stage on this album--which is fine since both are very good and have grown so much since the year before--while the rhythm section has just gotten tighter and more mature.

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of jazz-rock fusion--even better, in my opinion, than its predecessor--the band's highly-regarded debut, Azimut.

In 1972, Italian progressive rock was still in its infancy. There are the remnants of the beat, there are the first prog albums by Le Orme, Banco and PFM, and there is jazz-rock, which arrives with the debut of Perigeo.

Perigeo thus opened a third Italian road to prog, the most original, the least epigonic of English prog-rock, the road of jazz-rock-fusion, which would express its best in Naples with Perigeo itself and the later Napoli centrale, and in Milan with Area.

As Italian prog expert J. J. John writes, Perigeo debuts with a band that includes in its ranks musicians who are already well-tested: double bass player Giovanni Tommaso from Tuscany, who emigrated to New York when he was just 18 years old; and in NY he befriended the likes of Charles Mingus; pianist Franco D'Andrea from Alto Adige, who already boasted collaborations with top stars such as Gato Barbieri and the Modern Art Trio; the Roman drummer Bruno Biriaco, who had come back from a long experience in the beat; the Venetian saxophonist Claudio Fasoli, who had played for a long time on the Bologna jazz circuit; and last but not least, the group's foreigner Anthony Sidney, who was already a highly-rated guitarist at the time.

We are talking about the most competent Italian rock band of the entire progressive era - without wishing to devalue the technical abilities of Area and PFM.

The disc consists of three tracks on each side.

1. "Posto di non sai dove" (6:12) Begins with a hiss, avant-garde sounds stand out above an impressionist piano (almost new age, but new age hadn't arrived yet) until Tommaso's stentorian voice arrives. Tommas is the author of all the music and lyrics, as well as a fantastic bass player. Together with his singing, we can hear the expressionist phrases of the saxophone (Fasoli). Around 4 minutes the suspended and twilight atmosphere fades and a cacophonous instrumental piece arrives: we can hear the virtuosity of the pianist D'Andrea emerges from a sarabande of sounds while Tommaso repeats in the background words that count above all as onomatopoeic sounds. Music of high level. Rating 8.5

2. "Grandangolo" (8:22) It's an instrumental piece. It has a beginning marked by Tommaso's bass, and then a syncopated jazz rhythm strumming Sidney's guitar slashing. The rhythm section, with Tommaso on bass and drummer Bruno Biriaco, plays an astonishing jazz-funk pace, and electric piano and electric guitar soar above it. We are witness of a slow progression that gives its best in the ending with the sax solo and the swirling cacophonic spiral that concludes the piece. From this passage we understand what the musicologist and jazz guitarist Enrico Merlin wrote when he claims that Perigeo has found his own very personal way to jazz-rock, less linked to Miles Davis than many other contemporary groups (Weather report). This piece is a masterpiece. Rating 9.

3. "Waiting for the new day" (3:55) D'Andrea's electric piano opens this suffused piece before a very determined electric guitar takes over. In the background, the rhythmic section continues to give us pearls of music . It's a minor piece, which does not reach the dramatic intensity of the previous ones, and remains on a descriptive level. Rating 7+.

End of side A.

Side B opens with 4. "Azimut" (7:18), an avant-garde free jazz piece. Atmosphere of great pathos with electronic noises. The beginning is wonderful. Then, as in the case of the first song of side A, in the middle of the piece the music changes becoming more rhythmic and structured. Here I would have gladly heard Tommaso's singing, but Perigeo opts for a more jazzy solution and in fact instead of singing comes D'Andrea's liquid piano solo. Soft Machine, especially in the end, are just around the corner. This is the second masterpiece. Rating 9.

5. The short intermezzo of "Un respiro" shows a crepuscular atmosphere where we can hear Tommaso's vocalizations in the distance. Very evocative song. (No vote)

The final piece, "36' Parallelo", perhaps the most jazzy, is a continuous surprise. Each musician contributes to his best in providing a truly particular fusion, difficult to connect to any other music, which leaves the listenere enraptured; in the second part of the piece there are exquisitely jazz solos, first Briaco offers us a delicious solo but all in all it's a quite conventional jazz solo, while the D'Andrea's bass solo is a piece that goes from jazz to avant- garde beautifully and concludes Fasoli with his sax that manages to play in a way that doesn't even sound like a sax. Third masterpiece of the album. Rating 9+.

Fantastic album, full of musical ideas that transcend all genres and create a very original universe. The music from beginning to end remains on a truly remarkable level, and the songs as a whole make more than the individual pieces. It's hard to find criticism: the main one is the fragmentary nature of the pieces; the sound material is so varied, sublime and of great impact that it would have benefited if it had been developed in a more extensive and compact way, for example by linking the pieces together and making greater use of Tommaso's vocals.

In any case, this is a great masterpiece. Rating 9.5. Five stars.

A ground-breaking Jazz-Rock Fusion band from Italy that is new to me, thanks to PA compendium of so many things Italian, James Baldwin. This is the band's debut album. Apparently, several members of Perigeo would go on to historic acclaim in solo and other projects, including keyboard virtuoso Franco D'Andrea and saxophonist Claudio Fasoli as well as the band's leader, bassist/composer Giovanni Tommaso from Lucca in Tuscany.

1. "Posto di non so dove" (6:12) Listening to the first song of Azimet, I'm immediately blown away by the Demetrio Stratos-like vocals (a year before anybody'd heard of Demetrio Stratos), the brilliant Don Pullen-like piano, as well as the truly distinctive saxophone. The transition near the beginning of the fourth minute reminds me of early Premiata Forneria Marconi and Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso. I wonder if they (or Tommaso) had ever heard of the Giuseppi Logan Quartet. Beautiful! And so refreshingly new! (9.25/10)

2. "Grandangolo" (8:22) The second song seems to convey a feeling and stylistic approach that Eumir Deodato would make popular a year later in America with crème de la crème American jazz players--though there are also Tony Williams Lifetime feelings to it as well (despite the excellent funky bass). I'm am loving this rhythm section! Drummer Bruno Biriaco is quite impressive! The Fender Rhodes soloing is okay and the raunchy electric guitar is great but it's this rhythm section! They are so tight! Great smooth saxophone soloing in the sixth minute. (I love the engineering effects used on it.) And I love the quick descent into frenzied chaos for the final minute before pulling it together for the final coda! It's so Tony Williams like! (18/20)

3. "Aspettando il nuovo giorno" (3:55) The spacious third song opens with the nice Fender Rhodes and electric bass interplay. As sax joins in and then drummer's cymbal play, the keyboard moves to a repeating chord progression while electric guitar and sax solo over the gentle jazz. This part reminds me of both The Soft Machine and Miles Davis. Quite a pleasant listen. (9/10)

4. "Azimut" (7:18) Side Two's title songs seems to continue the spacious forms from the previous song, though this one a little more free jazz-like. Piano, bowed bass and tuned percussion sounds. This sounds so much like the opening of Return to Forever's "The Romantic Warrior"! (Did Chick steal it from Tommaso?) As the song develops further, it reminds me more of the works of Alice Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders in the late 1960s. Then, halfway through, the band pauses to come together for a structured full band presentation--one in which the presentation of the main melody is traded off among the instrumentalists in a kind of call-and-response rondo! Cool! Then Franco goes off on a wild piano solo while guitar and bass keep the vehicle on the road (with drummer providing some very entertaining accents and embellishments). Once again I am reminded of the jazzier post-Third work of The Soft Machine (as well as Ian Carr's post-Nucleus albums). (13.5/15)

5. "Un respiro" (1:30) The second song on Side Two opens with gentle Fender Rhodes chords supporting the twin melody-making of saxophone and Tommaso's reverbed vocalise. Very cool little interlude! (4.6667/5)

6. "36° parallelo" (9:51) The final songs breaks out sounding very much like a song from The Soft Machine. The dirty electric guitar takes the first lead over the steady drummer, Fender Rhodes chord play, and machine gun note-delivery of the bass. The rhythm section is really moving! And the melody lines are awesome! I especially like saxophonist Claudio Fasoli's sound and style. Impressive drum solo in the fourth minute. These guys can all play but the drummer, keyboardist, saxophonist, and bass player are all of the very highest caliber! A little too oriented toward the individual solos throughout the second half, which kind of turns me off, but excellent jazz. (17.875/20)

A-/five stars; an excellent jazz-rock fusion album--one of the best j-r fuse debut albums ever! A minor masterpiece of Jazz-Rock Fusion.

My nostalgic celebration of 1974 continues and the Italian "Perigeo" became the fortuness band this time. They started their carreer 1971 and played jazz rock during the years 1972-1981 and released eight studio records. "Genealogia" is their mostly and highest ranked album which of course not necessarily means it's the best. We'll let that be unsaid. It was their third release and the cover is insipid but the content is the opposite. Bruno Biriaco is the band's drummer, Franco D'Andrea the pianist, Claudio Fasoli the saxophonist, Tony Sidney the guitarist and Giovanni Tommaso the bassist, moogist and vocalist.

The vocals of Perigeo are wordless and do only occur on a couple of tracks but then they are lovely as well as the music here as a whole. I would say Perigeo plays an inspired and innovative jazz rock with lovely musical patterns of saxophone themes. The pervading atmosphere is a bit withdrawn, I would say a perfect balance between too much and too little. Still fourty years after this album has a capacity of bringing something new and fresh to us and I would absolutely recommend it. The best tracks according to me are: "Sidney's call" with a great drum solo(10/10) and "Via beato angelico"(10/10). The starter "Genealogia" is almost as good and also the record's longest song(9/10). Almost every other song is in the category very good and only a couple just good. Over all, then, this album contains the majority of things you need to be satisfied with a record. My average rating 4.2 becomes 4 solid stars!

Perigeo's second album `Abbiamo Tutti un Blues da Piangere' from 1973 reminds listeners that not every progressive related band to emerge from Italy decided to work in the Rock Progressivo Italiano style, this group preferring a fascinating take on the jazz fusion genre with plenty of unique ideas of their own. What makes this album so special is that a range of psychedelic elements have been worked into the expected jazzy arrangements to create something truly unique, full of a precious and fragile beauty all perfectly captured by this talented group of musicians. Disorientating, sometimes even a little noisy, the album takes it's time to slowly weave around you.

The hallucinatory atmosphere hits you right from the start, as droning treated slurred vocals, rising shimmering crashing cymbals and spiralling piano tinkling swirls around the listener during `Non c'é Tempo da Perdere'. Liquid molten electric guitar wailing bubbles and pops over glistening electric piano, the bass snaking it's way around the background and drums erupt and retreat around and around before splintering into storm-like chaos again in the dying seconds. `Déjà Vu', with it's reaching quivering violin, cascading piano and crooning sax softly weeping away, achieves a melancholic dreaminess. The band aim to take you to undiscovered spiritual peaks throughout the opening of `Rituale' by use of meditative chimes and tambourine. Strident piano grows in power, a scorching lead electric guitar melody and sax weave seamlessly together and repeat into infinity, with twisting spasmodic Soft Machine-like breakdowns into a cacophony of intimidating noise.

There's a fragile, unhurried warmth to the acoustic guitar that opens the title track `Abbiamo Tutti un Blues da Piangere', a beautifully executed and dramatic build throughout, as well as deeply emotional overall. Acoustic guitar (almost sounding like sitar strains), lonely piano, booming crashing gongs and pleading sax over unleashed weighty drumming will remind listeners of bands like Out of Focus. `Country' is a more tightly compact shorter jazzy interlude, definitely more of an upbeat respite, the highlight being plenty of electric piano ripples. `Nadir' begins floating and ambient, very low-key and subtle, but snarling electric guitar and drifting drowsy sax quickly bring a hint of unease. The almost ten minute album closer and psychedelic explosion `Vento, Pioggia e Sole' (`Wind, Rain and Sun') is full of spacey electronics, abrupt honking sax squeals, grinding electric guitar manipulations, discordant piano, thrashing drums and nimble-fingered piano dashes. Without question the most freeform piece on the disc, the music is howling, racing and manic, full of bluster and noise, but there's plenty of tasty grooves as well.

`Abbiamo Tutti un Blues da Piangere' is the perfect disc to dig out as the weather starts getting warmer, the soundtrack to a lazy sunny day, maybe lying on a hill under the shade of a big tree! OK, so that might be pouring it on a little thick, but this mix of well played jazz/fusion with traces of psychedelic rock is pretty hard to beat, and fans of other Italian bands such as Arti e Mestieri should investigate this one as well.

Four stars.

I am surprised this album does not seem to be better known among progheads. Unlike many RPI albums,this was not an obscure LP having been released on RCA in the U.S. and reviewed in a major newspaper.

A fantastic blend of jazz/rock/prog,for me this is easily their best album. The jazz element is more prominent than on most RPI albums,but don't let that put you off if you are not a jazz fan(I find most jazz boring). The players are first class and the music is melodic,inventive and wonderful.A solid 4 star album and one of the best RPI releases. The CD release is titled Non E Poi Cosi Lontano.

I am at a bit of a loss at what more to add to previous reviews of this album. Pretty much everything has been said before, so my little piece is largely for the purpose of a reminder for those who happened to miss previous inputs.

If you appreciate Jazz-Rock, Canterbury (the British approach as opposed to Fusion in the US) then PERIGEO won't disappoint. Very much in the same league with SOFT MACHINE and NUCLEUS (non-Karl Jenkins era). A nod towards electric MILES too, although I fail to see comparisons with "Bitches Brew" in particular, more like immediately after.

As usual, thoughtful and intelligent compositions are matched by superb musicianship. Whilst I find the title track a bit sluggish, things tend to pick up soon and provide due satisfaction throughout the rest of the album. Tony Sidney on guitar deserves special mention. His fluid style is reminiscent of Terry Smith's in the bands IF and ZZEBRA. Truly unique.

A very good album altogether.

I came across this album totally by surprise at a recent record fair, thinking I may have snapped up a bit of a highly regarded Italian progressive classic! I was initially hugely disappointed to find that, although Perigeo are an Italian band, they don't play the usual sort of passionate and emotional prog associated with that country, rather an intoxicating and captivating form of jazz-fusion, highlighted by electrifying performances and a manic Canterbury styled touch of sophistication.

At first I found this album to be a little by-the-numbers and quite charmless. Everything sounded in the right place, competently played by a bunch of great musicians, but I just wasn't clicking with it. Then on a drive into work on my nightshift, through sheer lack of inspiration and with nothing else to listen to, I put the album in the CD player and suddenly, it all worked for me. Like `Soft Machine's black and moody `5', an album I feel is quite similar to this one, it was the colder weather and dark night ambience that made more sense with the music I was hearing. There's a frequent sad and reflective tone to the music that made perfect sense so late in the chilly night.

`Genealogia' is best taken as a complete piece, all the wonderful instrumental compositions shifting between ambient electronics, driving sax, jazz-rock fusion, varied electric piano/fuzz organ/moog, and lovely emphasis in some parts on warm acoustic and searing electric guitars solos. There's a subtle and restrained touch, with occasional noisier outbursts picking up the pace when needed. Always prominent bass player Giovanni Tomasso also performs some effective wordless vocals on three of the tracks. I also thought there was a few sections with wild violin, but from what I understand that's actually him using a bow along his bass! Highly original, and gives the album a truly unique sound all it's own.

Strange electronics (moog?) begin the 8-minute title track on side A, before piano and commanding saxophone enter. I'd swear that was a violin throughout the constantly repeated grand theme, sounding very medieval! The sax becomes more fiery, sounding like something performed by the various Canterbury bands (probably why this album reminds me so much of Soft Machine's `5'). Very repetitive track, it becomes dizzying, with a real wild abandon. Jazzy drumming, catchy sax melody and shimmering electric piano on `Polaris', with throbbing bass and harsh electronic effects swirling around. There's a real explosive urgency to this one! `Tore Del Lago' has delicate piano and mournful sax. With gentle sighed wordless vocals, it's one of the most beautiful pieces on the album. `Via Beato Angelica's sweet acoustic guitar and pulsing electronics give way to an upbeat Latin- styled Santana groove, especially with the hot electric guitar solo and effective use of the congas.

The dirty drama of side B's `(In) Vino Veritas' has maddening Canterbury electric piano, out of control wailing sax, and tearing electric guitar! Listen for the knockout bass playing and furious drum-work on this one too, the band completely loses it! The gentle comedown of `Monti Pollidi' is a relief from the previous track, alternating between an evocative sax theme and whirling electric piano/bass/percussion subtlety. `Grandi Spazi' is an ambient dark-jazz piece with a very dank bass sound and somber sax. More Soft Machine-like urgency on `Old Vienna' with a fuzzy electric guitar and piano showdown, frantic bass playing and percussion, before a slightly abrupt ending. The album finishes on the initially sedate `Sidney's Call' with eerie sighs, gentle congas and lovely acoustic guitar before turning into a sax heavy workout in the middle, complete with drum solo. It then falls away into a wordless enveloping lullaby to finish the album on.

Housed in a bare plain-white sleeve with a pleasant and simple illustration on the cover, with music performed by a talented and inventive group of musicians, `Genealogia' is wonderful late-night jazz-rock/prog with a darkly immersive ambience.

Let me begin by saying I wrote this review after having only owned this album for a few weeks, and there may be that first flush of excitement to keep in mind as you read. On the other hand, I purchased it within a group of seventeen albums during an overseas trip, and this is the album I keep coming back to now, even months later.

Perigeo are a jazz-rock band from Rome who probably lean more toward the jazz side of things. While there is fiery electric soloing from Tony Sidney on some tracks, and some riff-work, it is more of an atmospheric rather than foot-stamping album (Although the outro to 'Rituale' cooks.) Instead, acoustic and electric piano, along with acoustic guitar, bass, sax and vocals, often create brooding soundscapes (like in opener 'Non c'é tempo da perdere') or even downright mournful moments like 'Déjà vu' - which makes highly effective use of acoustic piano.

Throughout the album 'Abbiamo tutti un blues da piangere' I hear flashes of 'Hot Rats', 'In A Silent Way' and others, but find them to be suggestive rather than derivative. Even the title track brought Van Morrison's 'Astral Weeks' to mind with the focus on band leader, singer and bassist Giovanni Tommas' soloing. Much more in line with the rock side of their sound, the rhythm instruments build 'Abbiamo...' effectively before a shrieking sax breaks in for a long solo, employing a familiar structure to rock audiences, and fusing it with the freer nature of jazz.

In general terms, parts of the album's second half are less impressive, with 'Country' and 'Nadir' coming across as a little too sparse for me. The closer, 'Vento, pioggia e sole' however, seems to fulfill the hints of 'Bitches Brew' that the album promises. Rockier than the Davis epic, it has a less shuffling and more driving rhythm beneath energetic soloing from the lead instruments, presented in a more hard bop 'trading off of solos' tradition. It's a stand out track, almost as satisfying as 'Rituale' or 'Abbiamo...' the other clear favourites.

Fans of the aforementioned albums should get definitely something out of this great record by Perigeo, which is a confident and emotive set of (mostly) instrumentals delivered with equal parts snap and subtlety. Well worth the investment, especially if you're looking to start exploring Jazz Rock.

This is PERIGEO's debut called "Azimut" released in 1972. It would be the first of three straight albums that I think are incredible. WEATHER REPORT came to mind most often when listening to this record with the atmospheres and style of playing.This is if nothing else an interesting listen.

"Posto Di Non So Dove" opens with atmophere as piano then vocals arrive a minute in. It kicks into gear around 3 1/2 minutes with drums, bass, guitar and piano.Vocals are back late. "Grandangolo" again opens with atmosphere as sounds come and go including sax. They start to groove after a minute.This reminds me of Zappa. Some cool guitar expressions here.This sounds great with the electric piano playing over top. It's intense after 4 minutes.The guitar starts to solo before 5 minutes.The sax replaces the guitar after 6 minutes. An intense and chaotic finish to this one. "Aspettando Il Nuova Giorno" opens with gentle piano as it slowly starts to build as bass, cymbals and other sounds join in.

"Azimut" starts out with soft keys as these wind chime-like sounds join in and alto sax. Lots of atmosphere here.The intensity is rising 1 1/2 minutes in until after 3 minutes when it calms down. Bass, keys, sax and drums create a new soundscape and this sounds really good. "Un Respiro" is a short melancholic piece with reserved vocals and sax as the wind blows. "36 Parallelo" is the longest track at around 10 minutes and the closer. Let's just say they go out with a bang here. Lots of energy reminding me of MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA as they light it up early.The guitar solos over top. Sax replaces the guitar after 2 minutes. A drum show before 4 minutes then it's the bass' turn before 5 1/2 minutes.The sax comes in honking before 8 minutes as the bass continues. It turns intense 9 minutes in before ending with a calm.

4.5 stars is probably more like it for this ride.