Giuseppe Magagnino - After the Rain (2023) [Hi-Res]

Jazz reflects my life...the most detailed account of how a beautiful and special day unexpectedly became the beginning of the production of “After The Rain,” my new recording.

The pianist's choices range from the more traditional material of the American songbook ("But Not For Me" by G. Gershwin), through originals ("Ask Me Now" by T. Monk) and up to some now-celebrated songs from the pop rock repertoire of the 1960s ("Blackbird" by The Beatles) and the late 1990s ("No Surprises" by Radiohead). A continuous research into thematic structure and the possibilities of melodic songwriting within jazz and compositional styles, which is also the result of the pianist's stage work over the past year as soloist and leader of the Mag Trio. The album opens with Dancing with Shadows, a reprise of the piece already featured on the album 'My Inter Child' in piano solo. The "jazz Waltz" in piano trio with the addition of the string orchestra gives a new breath to the song that makes the "shadows" "twirl" in a more or less present and emotional way, the arrangements and conducting of the orchestra are in the skilful hands of the famous violinist and composer Alessandro Quarta. This is followed by But not for Me, a very marked revision of Gershwin's famous jazz standard. The swing disappears altogether to make way for a broken, contemporary beat. The track is characterised by a riff played by piano and double bass that in the intro and bridges develops through an irregular metric on an odd time change. The revision made by the Apulian pianist leaves the formal structure of the theme unchanged and untouched, reharmonising the initial part and making it more emotionally 'dark' through the change of colour in the minor key, maintaining the same through the use of a progression of only two minor chords. Blackbird is a personal homage to the famous Beatles song. The song, performed solo piano, has a very bluesy vein that seeks to further accentuate the theme and meanings of the lyrics. An incursion between revisited tradition of blues language and jazz/pop harmony. Concluding the first half of the disc is My Prayer, a trio ballad form where Giuseppe displays his natural propensity to make piano and double bass sing together on the thematic construction. A very strong emotional atmosphere that is marked by the B theme played by the two instruments even after the respective solos developed instead only on the A part of the track. As is now his custom, the pianist no longer repeats the theme in its entirety after the end of the solos, making the piece slip away naturally towards the close. It is the turn of Jordu. A reprise of Duke Jordan's famous standard where the trio deconstructs the swing in a distinctly Latin setting. The hardbop tradition can all be heard here. The interaction and construction of the trio here reaches a very high degree of intimacy. The trio also 'risks' more by choosing to disentangle the dense harmonic structure on a much higher playing speed than the original. Aftermidnight is a composition with a gospel flavour that the composer 'gave birth' to during a night the previous summer. It is a liberating song against the ugliness of society and life. The Trio frees itself by having a lot of fun creating a very participative and intense groove where the blues, in the solos and the theme, takes the lead. The second piano solo track on the disc is Ask Me Now, a very respectful version in which Magagnino pays homage to one of the iconic figures of jazz, Thelonius Monk. The pianist juggles tradition and the freer, more interpreted part of the track. Here, too, he tries to highlight his search for dynamics and phrasing. The result is a very intimate and at the same time engaging version of this iconic piece. After The Rain is a rock ballad that the author pulls from his compositional chords. The single symbolises the whole meaning of the album. An emotional release and a wish, which Giuseppe makes to himself and to all listeners, to wait confidently always for the return of the serene after the rain metaphorically. This track also features the orchestration of violinist Alessandro Quarta, who skilfully 'sews' an orchestra texture onto this very simple melody, giving air to the already open theme at times and emphasising the rock character in the recording together with the skilful rhythmic work of Alemanno and Kostadinovic. A solo with a very modern flavour finally evolves the track into a limitless crescendo. The whole thing fades out, leaving in the finale the only rock beat of the drums that distinguishes the performance from the beginning. No Surprises is a small homage to one of the most important alternative rock bands of the last 30 years of music history, Radiohead.

Giuseppe Magagnino, piano
Luca Alemanno, double bass
Vladimir Kostadinovic, drums
ARTeM String Orchestra
Federico Micheli, violin
Andrea Cortesi, violin
Lorenzo Rundo, viola
Giancarlo Giannangeli, cello
Alessandro Quarta, conductor & arranger