Sorapis is an imposing Dolomite massif that stands as guardian of the splendid lake of Misurina, in whose waters it reflects all its austere majesty. The music contained in Sorapis like the Dolomite group of the same name: majestic, rich in history, shining, changing in shapes and colours, surprising in its development, a sure point of reference for anyone who wants to engage with it. Where the live dimension of the previous Half the Fun liberated an intrinsic exuberance, a marked executive freedom and allowed the music to form and flow mainly in the form of suites, in Sorapis the thought of D'Andrea and his quartet is organized in smaller episodes structured, with very different forms, with strongly characterized stories, true essays on the balance between writing and improvisation, between rigor and creativity. Allow yourself to be completely involved in Sorapis' music - how to grasp the beauty, the changes, the surprises that the mountain offers in the passing of a day. Like the reverberations of the sun on the granite, the plays of shadows and light, the edges and ravines that suddenly open up, the quiet of a sunset, the tumultuous plays of air and water that only summer downpours can bring about. capable of unleashing. After fifteen years of life, the quartet is an organism that thinks, breathes and produces in unison, far from automatisms, well-tested winks, aestheticisms supported by routine, not uncommon in such long-lived formations. Indeed, D'Andrea and his traveling companions proceed in the opposite direction. The profound mutual knowledge pushes towards research, experimentation, making the compositions something continuously changing, an open space where there are solid and well-recognizable structures but around and within which the four musicians move curious and unpredictable. It is impossible to point out one song rather than another because it would be like admiring a panorama from only one perspective. We then like to remember "The Single Petal Of A Rose" a vintage Ellington put there almost by chance but a brilliant demonstration of how the quartet is able to reread a piece of history making it more alive and current than ever and in perfect harmony with the entire work. [Translated from Italian]
El Gallo Rojo Records, 314-43,
2011
Recorded 13th-14th May, 2010
at Sound Sistemi Studio, Sarithià (VC)
Musicians:
Franco D'Andrea - Piano
Andrea Ayassot - Alto Sax,
Soprano Sax
Aldo Mella - Double Bass
Zeno De Rossi - Drums
Tracks:
1. Tritoni 1 {D'Andrea,
Ayassot, Mella, De Rossi} /
Seste {D'Andrea, Ayassot, Mella, De Rossi} / Old Jazz {D'Andrea} (11:08)
2. Latin Sketch {Franco
D'Andrea} (9:30)
3. T.M. {D'Andrea} / Air
Waves {D'Andrea} / Beatwitz {D'Andrea, Tonani} (12:05)
4. The Single Petal Of A Rose
{Duke Ellington} (3:12)
5. Sorapis {Franco D'Andrea}
(5:55)
6. Treble And Bass {D'Andrea,
Ayassot, Mella, De Rossi} (6:22)
7. Winterpromenade {Franco
D'Andrea} (4:53)
8. New Calypso {Franco
D'Andrea} (3:04)
Total Time: 56:13
