Gianni Basso Quartet - Gianni Basso In Bari - You're My Everything (2003)

In Italy, the tenor saxophonist Gianni Basso has a similar status to the trumpeter Dusko Goykovich here; they are also comparable because both have repeatedly worked with the same classics of American jazz. It is thanks to the tireless enthusiasm of the producer York von Prittwitz that the original voices of Italian mainstream jazz can also be heard here. In Bari he recorded the current Basso quartet and captured a great moment. In his warm-sounding, completely naturally swinging playing, Gianni Basso combines the elegance of a Stan Getz with the committed lyricism of a Ben Webster. The program of originals and standards is precisely tailored to this musical ideal, and his accompanists could not be better chosen. Guido Di Leone's guitar combines the single-line sophistication of a Jim Hall with a slightly metallic attack that has not been heard since Tiny Grimes. Bassist Giuseppe Bassi plays wonderfully rooted, similar to a Pierre Michelot four-to-the-bar, and is a virtuoso but never intrusive soloist; and Salvatore Tranchini's drumming - especially the brushwork - gives this springy beat a light-footed grace - che allegria! [what joy!] Modern mainstream can be so convincing, so heartfelt and touching when the great originals cultivate it. ~ Thomas Fitterling, www.rondomagazin.de. [Translated from German] 

YVP Music, YVP3107, 2003
Recorded 9th April, 2002 at Studio Sorriso, Bari, Italy 

Musicians:
Gianni Basso - Tenor Saxophone
Guido Di Leone - Guitar
Giuseppe Bassi - Double Bass
Salvatore Tranchini - Drums

Tracks:
01. You're My Everything {Harry Warren, Mort Dixon} (4:03)
02. My Old Friend {Gianni Basso} (6:47)
03. It's You Or No One {Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne} (5:20)
04. Blues For Pietro {Gianni Basso} (4:21)
05. Minton's Mood {Guido Di Leone} (5:15)
06. Thinking Of You {Harry Ruby, Bert Kalmar} (6:22)
07. Somebody Loves Me {George Gershwin} (6:10)
08. My Foolish Heart {Victor Young} (8:21)
09. Mister G.B. {Gianni Basso} (3:56)
10. Marizio "Nunez" Caldura {Guido Di Leone} (5:17)
11. Swinging Blues {Gianni Basso} (5:56) 

Total Time: 61:53 

Credits:
Producer - Gianni Basso, Guido Di Leone, Giuseppe Bassi
Executive Producer, Liner Notes - York von Prittwitz
Sound Engineer - Tommy Cavalieri
Graphic Design - Tonio Del Vecchio 

Guido Di Leone Trio with Ottonando Brass Ensemble - Isole (2004)

A 2003 recording Guido Di Leone is the signature guitarist of YVP. This album is an interesting attempt to use a trio with fellow YVP regulars Giuseppe Bassi and Massimo Manzi, a brass ensemble instead of an orchestra, and sometimes a soloist as a session member for a small arrangement (quartet or quintet). Apart from five of Guido's own compositions the ensemble tackles a few well-known standards "East Of The Sun And West Of The Moon", "Alone Together" and Dolphy's "Les". In addition, two other pieces are included by composers L. Giannatempo and ensemble member Marco Sannin. Guido's arrangements uphold a very sophisticated performance of the above-mentioned standards. His own tunes offer a complex, but invigorating journey augmented by the Ottonando Brass Ensemble. Overall, a genuine exploration of music that further highlights the virtuosity of this skilled guitarist.

 YVP Music, YVP3123, 2004
Recorded 4th-5th December, 2003 at Studio Sorriso, Bari, Italy 

Musicians:
Guido Di Leone - Guitar
Giuseppe Bassi - Double Bass
Massimo Manzi - Drums
Ottonando Brass Ensemble:
Mino Lacirignola - Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Trumpet Piccolo Eb, Bandleader
Marco Sannini - Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Donato Semeraro - French Horn
Giuseppe Zizzi - Trombone
Domenico Zizzi - Tuba 

Tracks:
01. Isole [Islands] {Guido Di Leone} (11:20)
02. Il Momento Infranto {Guido Di Leone} (6:20)
03. East Of The Sun And West Of The Moon {Brooks Bowman} (5:50)
04. Composed On Piano For Mal Waldron {Guido Di Leone} (10:26)
05. Alone Together {Howard Dietz, Arthur Schwartz} (4:23)
06. Rota E Fellini {Guido Di Leone} (5:14)
07. It Might Be True {L. Giannatempo} (7:10)
08. Les {Eric Dolphy} (4:25)
09. Tema Per Un Film Che Non C'è{Guido Di Leone} (5:55)
10. The Tale Of The Black Cat {Marco Sannini} (5:14) 

Total Time: 66:23 

Credits:
Producer - York von Prittwitz
Sound Engineer - Tommy Cavalieri
Graphic Design - Tonio Delvecchio 

The Tale Of The Black Cat

Guido Di Leone, Vito Di Modugno, Mimmo Campanale - Con Alma (2000)

Between feeling and atmosphere, the warm and effusive sound of Vito Di Modugno's Hammond organ, the crystalline and miniature sound of Guido Di Leone's electric guitar and the rustling and fitting sound of Mimmo Campanale on drums meet and blend together for an effective and substantial jazz proposal. Both with their own songs and with renditions of various authors, Di Leone, Di Modugno and Campanale expertly tackle and resolve this formula and this sound dimension: the balance and interweaving between the parts is always adequate and the propriety of expression denoted by the musicians deserves attention. The bright and evocative flow and advance of Di Modugno's periods unfolds well-disposed and lights up airy in its underlining and sanctioning and in its growth with generous determination and lively coordination. Soft, precious and smooth, Di Leone's phrasing speaks with savoir faire and now expands into lush and clear streams of mature ease, now punctuates and jousts with inventiveness and shrewdness in his conducting, which is always enriched with new ideas. With his Drumming, Campanale proves to be a versatile accompanist, who with diaphanous and light scanning pushes the becoming of the songs and also knows how to rise to the foreground with full-bodied concreteness. ~ Giordano Selini, JazzItalia.net. [Translated From Italian] 

YVP Music, CD 3084, 2000
Recorded 20th-21st October, 1999 at Tom Tom Studio, Bari, Italy 

Musicians:
Guido Di Leone - Guitar
Vito Di Modugno - Organ [Hammond]
Mimmo Campanale - Drums 

Tracks:
01. Blue Seven {Sonny Rollins} (6:36)
02. Mr. Smith {Vito Di Modugno} (5:33)
03. Goin' Out Of My Head {Bobby Weinstein, Teddy Randazzo} (6:52)
04. Waltz {Vito Di Modugno} (6:29)
05. Mr. Montgomery {Guido Di Leone} (5:26)
06. Cariba {Wes Montgomery} (4:36)
07. The Nearness Of You {Hoagy Carmichael} (7:24)
8a. Clementine Waltz {Giacomo Giannotti} (5:36)
8b. Le Veronique {Vito Di Modugno} (0:48)
09. Zoom {Vito Di Modugno} (3:08)
10. Palavras De Um Traidor {Guido Di Leone, Paola Amesano} (6:05)
11. I Love You {Cole Porter} (4:45)
12. Whisper Not (Benny Golson} (6:38) 

Total Time: 69:52 

Credits:
Producer - York von Prittwitz
Sound Engineer - Angelo Pantaleo
Photos - Luigi Fiore
Graphic Design - Tonio Delvecchio 

Whisper Not

Guido Di Leone Quartet - Walkin' Ahead (2006)

Guido Di Leone is an Apulian musician who has already been produced by the German label and now returns with a multinational group proposing a mainstream rooted in tradition, fresh and enjoyable for sincerity. His message is clear and his solos understandable, testifying to a passion for jazz that has no limits. With him is the American special guest Allen Hermann on trombone who knows how to give verve to everything, and the Dutch (but resident in Bologna) Barend Middelhoff, a tenor saxophonist with a cool voice and beautiful fluidity in improvisation. The compositions are well chosen and those of the leader and guitarist are well made. The group gratifies the listeners with the elegance of the performances and the overflowing swing, making quality music performed with feeling. The result is a well-made mainstream record, sincere, even if perhaps not very stimulating for those who know the genre well. ~ Extract by AAJ Staff. [Translated From Italian] 

YVP Music, YVP 3138, 2006
Recorded 8th & 9th March, 2006 at Scuola Di Musica Il Pentagramma, Bari, Italy 

Personnel:
Guido Di Leone - Guitar
Barend Middelhoff - Tenor Saxophone
Pietro Ciancaglini - Bass
Alessandro Minetto - Drums
Allen Hermann - Trombone 

Tracklist:
1. Westwood Walk {Gerry Mulligan} (7:07)
2. Walkin' Ahead {Guido Di Leone} (6:42)
3. III Wind {Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler} (9:11)
4. Soft Blow {Guido Di Leone} (5:18)
5. Hypnotic Waltz {Guido Di Leone} (8:11)
6. Spring Board {Guido Di Leone} (6:02)
7. Mia Malinconia [From Amarcord] {Nino Rota} (8:21)
8. The Dishwasher Tune {Guido Di Leone} (5:06)
9. I've Got The World On A String {Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler} (7:00) 

Total Time: 63:04

Credits:
Producer - York v. Prittwitz
Recording & Mastering - Gennaro Mele
Photos - Marco Giuliani
Graphics - Antonio Delvecchio

Enrico Pieranunzi, Enzo Pietropaoli, Roberto Gatto - Moon Pie (1987)

Here we have an early trio grouping of Italian piano/keyboardist Enrico Pieranunzi joined by compatriots, bassist Enzo Pietropaolo and drummer Roberto Gatto. Recorded in mid-1987, at a time when jazz fusion was evolving and it's no surprise that this trio portrays their ability to adapt to the times. As a result, the band favours utilising the modern sounds of electric piano, synthesizer on Enrico's part but also the inclusion of electric guitar and bass by Enzo with Roberto's dynamism matching in. The twelve tunes found on this album are composed and split equally amongst both Enrico and Enzo. Many recent Enrico Pieranunzi fans will be initially confused as to what's happened to Enrico's normal classic acoustic trio formation. All the compositions are relatively short, the longest being just three a half minutes, but don't be put off because these musicians are masters of their individual instruments and can easily adapt and improvise with the ability to play all styles of jazz. Listeners will be enthralled by the sonic range of the tunes, being swept along by the power of musicianship of the group leaving them with an experience and journey of pure entertainment, something that can be enjoyed over and over. 

yvp music, 3011, 1987
YVP Music, yvp music 3011 CD, 1991
Recorded May-June, 1987 at Soundvideocat Studios, Rome, Italy 

Musicians:
Enrico Pieranunzi - Piano, Keyboards, Synthesizer
Enzo Pietropaoli - Bass, Guitar
Roberto Gatto - Drums 

Tracks:
01. Today {Enzo Pietropaoli} (3:01)
02. Occasions {Enrico Pieranunzi} (2:35)
03. Martina {Enzo Pietropaoli} (3:12)
04. Skies {Enrico Pieranunzi} (3:35)
05. Before The Wind {Enzo Pietropaoli} (3:37)
06. I'm Looking For You {Enrico Pieranunzi} (3:18)
07. No Exchanges {Enrico Pieranunzi} (3:01)
08. Autobahn {Enzo Pietropaoli} (3:18)
09. Uptown Style {Enrico Pieranunzi} (3:01)
10. After The Rain {Enzo Pietropaoli} (3:29)
11. Blue And Golden {Enrico Pieranunzi} (3:06)
12. Speedy Girl {Enzo Pietropaoli} (2:57) 

Total Time: 38:10 

Credits:
Producer, Liner Notes - York v. Prittwitz
Recording Engineer - Gianrico La Rosa
Cover Photo - Micha Wolfson
Cover Design - Michael Koehler
Notes [Translation] - Claudia v. Prittwitz

Gijs Hendriks & Beaver Harris Quartet - Sound Compound (1986) [vinyl]

March '86 Beaver Harris was invited to Holland by Gijs Hendriks and Bert van Erk. They called upon him as being the ideal drummer for a concept reaching from strictly structured pieces to free collective improvisation from multiplied changes to open tonality from rock to polyrhythmics from ragtime to no time. Harris in his turn invited them for his tour in France. The Quartet was completed with Charles Loos and the combination found itself inspiring. Another phone. Bert calls me. The recording-session was done at Max Bolleman's Studio 44, Monster, Holland. The result of this is the album "Sound Compound" (yvp music 3009). We love what we are doing! ~ From ‌Liner Notes. 

YVP Music, yvp music 3009, 1988
Recorded March, 1986 at Studio 44, Monster, Holland 

Musicians:
Gijs Hendriks - Alto, Soprano, Tenor & Baritone Saxophones
Beaver Harris - Drums
Charles Loos - Piano
Bert Van Erk - Double Bass 

Tracks:
A1. In A Friendly Way (10:10)
A2. Brasilien Song (5:17)
A3. Groovin'on (7:11)
B1. Tribute To Michael (7:13)
B2. Esbres (6:27)
B3. Deeboojah (8:20) 

All Compositions by Gijs Hendriks 

Total Time: 44:38 

Credits:
Producer, Liner Notes - York von Prittwitz Und Gaffron
Executive-Producer - Konrad Baeschlin, Wolfram M. Burgert
Recording Engineer - Max Bolleman
Photography - Luc Lévêque
Cover Design - Michael Koehler

Enrico Pieranunzi Trio - Multiple Choice, Vol. 6 (2000)

Multiple Choice is now the 6th CD that Enrico Pieranunzi and his trio present on yvp. And again, it is a prime example of interactive music-making at the highest level! Pieranunzi has chosen two exquisite companions: The Genoa-born bassist Piero Leveratto has been working with Pieranunzi for over ten years and has proven himself here as a sensitive companion and highly virtuoso soloist alike. Drummer Marcello Di Leonardo is a new addition, whose sensitive playing provides the right basis for the master's pianistic excursions. The title "Multiple Choice" expresses the intention of the trio on this CD. Bill Evans, Pieranunzi's great teacher, once said that jazz asks "how" and not "what".And so the Enrico Pieranunzi Trio did not set a fixed musical language for this recording, but set the goal of playing the most open and best music that the three of them are capable of. And so, according to the title "Multiple Choice", there is modal jazz next to free forms, melodic ballads next to Latin-influenced numbers, all held together by a common musical language. ~ enricopieranunzi.it. [Translated From German]. 

YVP Music, yvp music 3079 CD, 2000
Recorded 20th March, 2000 at Platinum One Studio, Studio 2, Zürich, Switzerland 

Musicians:
Enrico Pieranunzi - Piano
Piero Leveratto - Bass
Marcello Di Leonardo - Drums 

Tracks:
01. Improline {Enrico Pieranunzi} (2:34)
02. Blue Improline {Enrico Pieranunzi} (2:18)
03. Dee Song {Enrico Pieranunzi} (5:44)
04. Improline 2 {Enrico Pieranunzi} (2:46)
05. Improline 4 {Enrico Pieranunzi} (1:22)
06. Improline 3 {Enrico Pieranunzi} (2:02)
07. The Common Element {Enrico Pieranunzi} (3:26)
08. December Waltz {Stefania Tallini} (6:06)
09. Myriads {Piero Leveratto} (3:44)
10. Improline 5 {Enrico Pieranunzi} (2:22)
11. Love’s Language {Enrico Pieranunzi} (5:38)
12. Improline 6 {Enrico Pieranunzi} (2:11)
13. Morning Song For Stefì {Enrico Pieranunzi} (2:40)
14. Cancion Del Dia {Enrico Pieranunzi} (3:30)
15. One Lone Star {Enrico Pieranunzi} (5:30)
16. Multiple Choice {Enrico Pieranunzi} (3:00) 

Total Time: 55:01 

Credits:
Producer - Peter Bürli [Radio DRS 2]
Producer, Design [Cover] - York v. Prittwitz [yvp music]
Recording, Mixing & Mastering - Martin Pearson
Photo - Paolo Soriani
Liner Notes - Enrico Pieranunzi 

Here's a unique CD; a compilation of compositions by the then working Enrico Pieranunzi Trio in 2000, recorded in Switzerland and produced by Radio DRS 2. The disc comprises of 16 tracks, the majority of them penned by Enrico himself. For his latest trio formation, he brings together bassist Piero Leveratto and drummer Marcello Di Leonardo. As per usual Enrico weaves his magic and truly asserts his authority as a master pianist and composer of modern jazz. Regardless of his continental background he is revered throughout the world and it's not an overstatement to say that all his works are of the highest quality bringing joy to many an older or newer jazz audience/s.

Riccardo Fassi - Riccardo Fassi New York Quintet (1998)

This CD represents an emblematic example of the high level of Italian jazz, which has nothing to envy for quality projects of its exponents to what is practiced overseas. The esteem that Riccardo Fassi enjoys with American musicians is well known to fans of African American music, as evidenced by his past collaborations with Steve Lacy, Tim Berne, Oliver Lake, Gunter Schuller, and especially his beautiful record of 1993 New York Trio (also for the YVP) with Rufus Reid and Marvin Smith. An elegant and refined writing of mainstream derivation permeates the CD, in which the pianist has carved out the difficult and discrete role of the orchestra more than the soloist, leaving room for the delicious solos now responsorial now in unison by Gary Smulyan engaged in the baritone saxophone and of vibraphonist Bryan Carrott, whose great rhythmic verve recalls the best Bobby Hutcherson of the '60s. Already the first notes of the CD, suggest a perfect balance between the components of the quintet, which leads the musicians to interact as if they were in an orchestra, aiming for short and dense solos, without ambitions of hyper-virtuosity pleased in a continuous game of tension and distension. A soft and relaxed atmosphere, never however glossy or mushy, permeates the development of most of the pieces including "Just Love", "Alluminio" and "Lamu", from the suave melodic performance. Carrott's performance is enhanced by the record, to which the recording industry has not (incredibly) granted until today the opportunity to show off with engravings on its behalf. And this seems all the truer given that today the creation of CDs no longer denies anyone. The forty-three vibraphonist New Yorker, who had already contributed with Fassi to the success of the "Conduction 43" by Butch Morris during the course of Verona Jazz in 1994, gives his instrument greater harmonic freedom and timbre variety to the weaving of the songs, on which the relaxed and relaxed interplay of the quintet. The beauty of the themes - all fascinating and seductive as few - and the rapid melodic and rhythmic changes, finally avert the predictability that generally characterizes the mainstream production, rigid in the structuring of the solos and the monochordal path. 4 Stars, ~ by Maurizio Zerbo [Translation from Italian].

YVP Music, 3092 CD, 2001

Recorded 3^rd February, 1998 At Systems Two, Brooklyn, New York

Musicians:

Riccardo Fassi - Piano

Gary Smulyan - Baritone Saxophone

Bryan Carrott - Vibraphone

Dennis Irwin - Double Bass

Adam Nussbaum - Drums

Tracks:

1. Lamu (6:54)

2. Last Dance (6:08)

3. No Space For The Eggs (7:23)

4. Mars (7:08)

5. Miss B (3:59)

6. Market (7:58)

7. Just Love (7:36)

8. Prophet (7:49)

9. Alluminium (6:34)

All Compositions and Arrangements by Riccardo Fassi

Credits:

Producer - Riccardo Fassi, York v. Prittwitz

Recording Engineer - Michael Marciano, Joseph Marciano

Digital Mastering - Philipp Heck, Bauer Studios, Ludwigsburg

Cover Photo - Jorge Lardone

Photo - Riccardo Fassi

Cover Design - York v. Prittwitz

Liner Notes - Yvp Music Archive