Alex Semprevivo - Art of the Messengers (2019)

As you can easily guess the disc is a tribute to the style of Art Blakey and his The Messengers. The pieces proposed, however, belong to several well-known authors: JJ Johnson, Wayne Shorter, Walter Davis Jr., just to name a few.

Semprevivo draws the formation with a style that, even referring to the most famous predecessor, characterizes with its highly energetic ways. He takes full advantage of the collaboration with pianist and producer Angelo Mastronardi, which began with the second album "New Things, Same Words" in 2017. Mastronardi is also the arranger with whom Alessandro shares the harmonious and structural vision of the work.

The disc is opened by "No Problem" with an unprejudiced drum solo and, later, by an interesting trumpet improvisation. "Calling Miss Khadija" and the remix of "No Problem" contain the presence of a Mini Moog played as an original instrument. Then we jump to "So Tired", embellished by a single flute based on effects and timbres that make the composition a soul-jazz. The other pieces are characterized as fast swingers, as up swingers, as as blues, and as for hints of orchestration.

In short, 8 tracks with a high energy content for a summer that promises to be very hot. Do not underestimate the remix version of "No Problem" to bring jazz where it has been missing for a long time: the ballrooms, the discos.