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
