Paolo Damiani - Ladybird (2004)

After a first listen, Paolo Damiani's Ladybird leaves you with no fixed points to orient yourself within its musical and aesthetic inspiration. It escapes any classification and, if the aim remains to find an adequate genre, countless listenings would still be insufficient. As typical of Damiani's work, Ladybird is very thought out and structured. The first two songs, Habla del Sur and Era Destino, are compositions in harmony with the aesthetics of the Egea: light and sinuous melody, full of Mediterranean radiance, where Diana Torto's vocals seem like a song without words, counterpointed by the lyricism of Fresu's trumpet and flugelhorn. Despite the perfect orchestration of all the instruments and, in particular, the happy writing of the wind parts, the true protagonist of Ladybird is the voice of Diana Torto which, we repeat, can be appreciated above all because it does not indulge too much in cold vocal virtuosity, but her "singing" is always "inside" the melody of the various pieces. Only in the piece that gives the CD its title does the voice lose the foreground, hiding until it blends in with the other instruments and the result is in any case one of the best moments of the entire work and, effectively, the most representative of the compositional and orchestral talent of Damian. ~ Extract by Dario Gentili, Jazzitalia.net. [Translated from Italian] 

Egea Records, SCA 111, 2004
Recorded June, 2003 - February, 2004 in Perugia, Italy 

Musicians:
Paolo Damiani - Double Bass, Cello
Paolo Fresu - Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Gianluca Petrella - Trombone
Achille Succi - Alto Saxophone, Bass Clarinet
Bebo Ferra - Guitar
Roberto Dani - Drums
Fulvio Maras - Percussion, Electronics
Diana Torto - Vocals 

Tracks:
1. Habla Del Sur {Paolo Damiani} (5:41)
2. Era Destino {Paolo Damiani} (5:54)
3. L'Amor Messo Da Parte {Paolo Damiani, Stefano Benni} (6:21)
4. Tango Lento {Paolo Damiani} (3:42)
5. Quello Che Non Voglio {Paolo Damiani, Stefano Benni} (9:00)
6. Cos'è Che Ti Fa Andare Così {Paolo Damiani} (5:19)
7. Argentiera {Paolo Damiani} (4:52)
8. Ladybird {Paolo Damiani} (6:40)
9. Nel Mare Sconfinato Di Un Segreto {Paolo Damiani} (8:56) 

Total Time: 56:30 

Credits:
Producer - Egea Records
Recording & Mixing Engineer - Angelo Cioffi
Management - Rosalba Di Raimondo
Cover Design - Annalisa Ciaramella
Graphic Design - Andrea Staiano
Photography - Adriano Scognamillo, Guy Le Querrec, Magnum Photos
Liner Notes - Stefano Benni, Elisa Ascione, Fabienne Palamidessi 

Quello Che Non Voglio