Massimo Sorrentino - Corde a Colori (2022)

A concept album divided into 4 parts with the aim of exploring the quantity and sound quality of the guitar world: with experimental and contaminated jazz imprints.These sound and stylistic differences are marked by referring to the 4-color suggestion, to which they were dedicated 3 compositions that want to reflect the emotion that each color can cause. Through the succession of colors (white, green, red and blue), as well as the forerunner titles of each part of the disc, we want to give the suggestion of the mood that pivots the various songs, which have been composed and / or arranged by Sorrentino following an exploration with the succession of additions of various guitars and musical ideas, which with the progress of listening become more and more wide-ranging. The "Acoustic White" represents the minimalism and sound purity of the acoustic guitar. The "Green trio" is the cohesion of only three main instruments (guitar, double bass and piano). The "Orchestral Red": the jazz and electric guitar immersed in a great symphonic ensemble, which wants to recall the more theatrical and cinematographic aspect of music. The "Electric Blue": sound experimentation with electric guitars through rarefied sounds, immersed in acid-jazz, afrobeat, rock rhythms ...

The idea of 'Color strings' arises from the need to be able to play in total freedom everything that the world of the guitar can transmit to me. The result is a concept-album that moves on 4 levels ("colors") of sound suggestions: from the most minimalist ones (white and green) to the more complex and varied ones (red and blue). Most of the songs were born improvising, experimenting with an approach to composition that did not involve too many second thoughts. In this sense, the music is inspired by a "jazz" with the broadest and most experimental exception of the term. Even though we live in an age where we tend to want to label everything, I always hope that something still cannot be incorporated into a single word. This is the spirit that made the creation of this musical project possible.

I composed some melodies while a new wait 'was about to change my life. Then that expectation became 'present' and has a name: Samuele, my sweet grandson. Somehow the 'colors' of this album are his too. Among the many ballads of the jazz tradition, from an early age I had a soft spot for the immense 'Over the rainbow'. His cinematographic suggestions and his dreamy rainbow could not be missing in the palette of my colors and my memories. One of my favorite songs is 'Blackbird'. Its melody, its harmonies and the way McCartney performed it way back in 1968 will forever remain in the history of the acoustic guitar. In my small way I wanted to pay homage to this work of art, which unfortunately still today, reminds us of the senselessness of conflicts that arise due to the 'colors' of humans. Despite its colors, the music is not seen, the music is listened to. Massimo