Dino Rubino - Where Is The Happiness? (2017)

Where Is The Happiness?
Question for which there is no human being who has not sought an answer. Philosophers, writers, painters, composers and above all the common man have come to terms with this unresolved question or with an answer that is sometimes so obvious that it does not deserve any consideration. This is what Dino Rubino wonders in his latest record published by Tùk Music and made with a highly respected crew that sees Emanuele Cisi on sax, Angelo Bonaccorso on French horn, Gaetano Cristofaro on clarinet, Giuseppe Mirabella on guitar, Paolino Dalla Porta on double bass and Adam Nussbaum on drums. The ten musical tracks that the pianist and trumpeter writes for this recording unfold on the trail of this answer, as well as an original version of “Sugar Man”, a famous piece by Sixto Rodriguez. Just as it is true that happiness is everywhere and at the same time nowhere, these pieces testify to Rubino's exploration of that musical metalanguage that knows no genre limit. In fact, there is a whole baggage of artistic experiences and listening in these pieces, from jazz to folk, rock, pop and classic repertoire, influences that, perfectly digested and reworked by Dino Rubino, emerge in different ways in these songs, almost to render concrete is the quote from Paolo Fresu that stands out in the booklet of the cd and that reads "Happiness is also not depriving oneself of anything". The pursuit of happiness in this music is something that has to do with an element of optimism and positivity, it proceeds through never dark atmospheres, on the contrary illuminated in the path by that light of spirituality that inevitably cheers. Dino Rubino wanted to add a literary equivalent to each of these passages, offering as many of his poems to be read in the booklet. Verses that do not describe, but rather suggest memories, images, stories that each of us has experienced at least once. Because happiness is never just a melody, but it is also word and vision, like that of the images that the Polish illustrator Joanna Gniady also offers to accompany this work. The opening "Joyful" is perfectly symmetrical to the "Happiness", which closes the disc: from joy, a euphoric but temporary condition of the spirit, to the awareness of a happiness that, however faint for all of us, reveals itself with a cyclical and regular rhythmic scan. As if to say that sometimes it goes away, but then it always comes back. And Dino Rubino dedicates this record to the "seekers of happiness", that is, to everyone, to that man who, at the center of the world, is also at the center of this music. ~ PianoSolo.it. 

Tǔk Music, TUK022, 2017
Recorded 3rd, 4th & 5th June, 2017 at Arte Sicilia, Acireale, Catania, Italy

Musicians:
Dino Rubino - Piano, Flugelhorn
Emanuele Cisi - Tenor Saxophone
Angelo Bonaccorso - French Horn
Gaetano Cristofaro - Bass Clarinet
Giuseppe Mirabella - Guitars
Paolino Dalla Porta - Double Bass
Adam Nussbaum - Drums 

Tracks:
01. Joyful {Dino Rubino} (6:26)
02. Van Gogh {Dino Rubino} (4:12)
03. Wind {Dino Rubino} (5:12)
04. Etna {Dino Rubino} (4:51)
05. Where Is The Happiness? {Dino Rubino} (6:33)
06. Blanc Et Noir {Dino Rubino} (0:45)
07. Sugar Man {Sixto Rodriguez} (4:12)
08. Broken Words {Dino Rubino} (6:12)
09. Souvenirs {Dino Rubino} (4:56)
10. Mondo {Dino Rubino} (6:25)
11. Happiness {Dino Rubino} (5:07) 

Total Time: 54:51 

Van Gogh