Roberto Ottaviano - People (2024)

“Many have thought that my idea of Eternal Love is a kind of ode to love in the absolute sense and a sense of peace and non-violence, as well as eternal gratitude to someone and something. It’s not really like that. At least, not only,” says Roberto Ottaviano. “In life there are inescapable things we encounter that force us to act, not just observe. To respect oneself, to fight, to search, to listen, to defuse but also to denounce. And we must always understand the word love, which can also mean not always turning the other cheek. Humanity is a microcosm in the cosmos and acts in unexpected as well as predictable ways, with Pindaric flights of beauty and continuous plunges into the most horrible abysses, denying itself and thus turning into something inhuman,” the musician continues. “I wanted to collect here a series of ‘live’ moments of the band, which I feel is when we all give our best in the combustion that is created with the public, and call it People precisely in an attempt to draw portraits of this humanity made up of people we have really and virtually met, people who have given us something, their places and their breaths“.

The CD opens with At The Wheel Well, a composition by Nikos Kypourgos from the film ‘The Cistern’ by Hristos Dimas, which tells a story charged with political resonance. On the surface, the film is a portrait of the last summer of childhood of a group of eleven-year-old boys who joke around, challenging each other to dive into a concrete water cistern, playing football and other similar pastimes. The unspoken background of the entire film is the period of military rule in Greece (1967-74), a time when the country entered a kind of strange social stasis. Mong’s Speakin’ is a dedication to the playful spirit of an unforgettable great of South African music: trumpeter Mongezi Fesa. Hariprasad is a game of reflective, almost hypnotic mirrors as characteristic of Indian folk music. Only the group does not rely on Raga’s rules, but on their own improvisational skills. It is dedicated to the great flute soloist Hariprasad Chaurasia. Callas is a portrait of the diva imbued with mystery, suffering and elevation. Niki is a metaphor for speed, dedicated to Niki Lauda. Gare Guillemans by Misha Mengelberg is inspired by an old (now renovated) Belgian railway station. ‘Here we have partly kept the original vein a bit New Orleans funeral, but in the style of the Dutch Masters, with my singing as an old drunkard, and with the idea that maybe Misha, this character, would have liked it,’ Ottaviano points out. Ohnedaruth is the Sanskrit name adopted by Coltrane and means ‘compassionate’. “I like to think that here we looked at Trane through the spirit of Elton Dean’s quartet with Keith Tippett, Harry Miller and Louis Moholo, their strength their energy that will never leave me,” he says. Caminho Das Águas is a song by Brazilian Rodrigo Manhero, but after all, the Way of the Waters is a leitmotif of Brazilian music, especially that linked to the spirit of the Amazon. “It might seem strange that a group such as this would include such a sweet and dancing piece in its repertoire, but I am a firm believer in playing what is in your heart, without being conditioned by clichés”.

Active on the international jazz scene for over forty years, Roberto Ottaviano has played and recorded with some of the most important American and European musicians straddling several generations. At the age of five, he took clarinet lessons at the Conservatorio ‘Niccolò Piccinni’ in Bari, then studied classical saxophone in Perugia with Federico Mondelci, harmony and classical composition with Walter Boncompagni, Giacomo Manzoni and Luigi Nono. A chance meeting with Steve Lacy prompted him to deepen his study of the soprano saxophone. In America he studied jazz composition and arrangement with Ran Blake, Bill Russo, George Russell, collaborating with Buck Clayton, Ernie Wilkins, Benny Bailey, Sal Nistico; then he was a member of Andrea Centazzo’s orchestra, collaborating with Gianluigi Trovesi, Theo Jörgensmann, Franz Koglmann, Carlo Actis Dato, Radu Malfatti, Carlos Zingaro, Franz Koglmann, Georg Gräwe, Ran Blake, Tiziana Ghiglioni. In 1983 he released his first album (‘Aspects’) with Giancarlo Schiaffini, Paolo Fresu, Carlo Actis Dato. In 1986 he formed a quartet with Arrigo Cappellatti. In 1988 he founded the brass ensemble ‘Six Mobilies’, in 1988 he recorded a homage to Charles Mingus (Mingus – portraits in six colours ), in 1990 he recorded ‘Items from the old earth’. Since 1979 he has collaborated with numerous jazz musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie, Art Farmer, Mal Waldron, Albert Mangelsdorff, Chet Baker, Enrico Rava, Barre Phillips, Keith Tippett, Steve Swallow, Irene Schweizer, Kenny Wheeler, Henry Texier, Paul Bley, Aldo Romano, Myra Sant’agnello, Tony Oxley, Misha Mengelberg, Han Bennink, Mario Schiano, Trilok Gurtu, Samulnori, Pierre Favre. He plays at many European and American jazz festivals. He performs in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, France, Denmark, Norway, England, Spain, Portugal, Yugoslavia, Albania, Romania, Russia, India, Japan, Mexico, Thailand, Morocco, Algeria, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Cameroun, USA, Canada, and has recorded for Red, Splasc(h), Soul Note, Dodicilune, Hat Art, Intakt, ECM, DIW and Ogun. As a teacher, he has taught courses in Woodstock N.Y., at the conservatories of Mexico City, Vienna, Groningen, at cultural institutions in Urbino, Cagliari, Florence, Rome, Syracuse. He founded the Musica Jazz course at the Conservatorio Niccolò Piccinni in Bari and has been its coordinator for almost 30 years. He is the author of the book, ‘Il sax: lo strumento, la storia, le tecniche’ (Muzzio editore, 1989). For Dodicilune he has published, with various ensembles, ‘Un Dio Clandestino’ (2008), ‘Arcthetics. Soffio Primitivo” (2013), “Forgotten Matches. The Worlds of Steve Lacy” (2014), “Astrolabio” (2015), “Eternal Love” (2018), the two records of the year for Top Jazz (referendum held by Musica Jazz magazine) “Sideralis” (2017) and “Resonance & Rhapsodies” (2020), “Charlie’s Blue Skylight” (2022) and “A che punto è la notte” (2023). He was elected Italian musician of the year for Top Jazz 2022, an annual referendum held by the historic magazine Musica Jazz.

“A BEAUTIFUL AND EMOTIONAL SONIC FRESCO FULL OF MEMORIES, SUGGESTIONS AND DREAMS” edited by Riccardo Bergerone
Writing liner notes for an album is never a simple matter. The risk of being banal and obvious or convoluted and prolix is always lying in wait. Then, when this task refers to a record by a dear friend for over 40 years with whom you have shared passions (English and European jazz above all), adventures, joys, sorrows, friendships, travels, chats, then the challenge becomes exciting as well as having a good dose of ‘risk’. And so I immediately warn those about to start listening to ‘People’ that this is a marvellous record that sanctions the full expressive maturity of this splendid band with this evocative name, Eternal Love. A band set up with the usual sensitivity by a very talented ‘enologist’ as Roberto Ottaviano has always been. Throughout his long career, he has always produced ‘excellent wines’, bands or projects that are never predictable or banal. And this disc consecrates him as one of the most original and talented band leaders that European and Italian jazz have counted in recent decades. A great ‘wine’, an Eternal Wine of comparable thickness to one of the best ‘Barolo’. It might be an idea to pair a glass of Barolo to accompany you in listening to ‘People’ in this multifaceted sonic journey of the quintet… but you do it… ‘People’ is a sumptuous record, full of aromas and perfumes, of journeys and encounters, of past memories and contemporary frescoes. But above all, you can hear the soul, heart and joy of these five musicians and friends who have been playing together for years. The wines produced by the ‘Ottaviano cellar’ have always been surprising over the years… how can we not remember, for example, the Six Mobiles, a sextet from the 1980s that paid homage to Mingus, or his unforgettable tribute to his mentor Steve Lacy ‘Forgotten Matches’, or the recent beautiful ‘A che punto è la notte’ with the group Pinturas. Anyone can delve into Roberto Ottaviano’s discography with the knowledge that they will discover gems that may have gone into oblivion but, like good wines, never age. In the last few years, thanks to the support of the Apulian label Dodicilune, his record production has accelerated and each record designed has always been able to surprise and provide genuine fascinating musical adventures. Roberto has always been a curious, omnivorous, tireless and open artist, which has led him to collaborate with the most diverse and varied musicians. From Giorgio Gaslini to Keith Tippett, from Mal Waldron to Albert Mangelsdorff, from Pierre Favre to Louis Moholo, from Franz Koglmann to Andrea Centazzo, from Michel Godard to Nexus, from Gianluigi Trovesi to Tiziana Ghiglioni, Bennink, Oxley, Trilok Gurtu… and the list of his collaborations is very long. The sound of her soprano is always brilliant, dreamlike and exciting. The repertoire chosen on this disc alternates between original pieces, including the joyous homage to Mongesi Feza ‘Mong’s Speakin’ and Misha Mengelberg’s splendid ‘Gare Guillemans’ (with Ottaviano for the first time in the guise of an irreverent and wacky ‘crooner’) and compositions by various composers (the splendid solemnity of the opening track ‘At the wheel well’ by Nikos Kypourgos and the persuasive and beautiful solemnity of ‘Caminho Das Aguas’ by Rodrigo Manhero at the close of the disc). In his group Eternal Love, created six years ago now, Ottaviano wanted musicians who had the characteristics most akin to his own. Marco, Alexander, Giovanni and Zeno have succeeded in creating, under the aegis of ‘enologist Roberto’, that group magic that pervades their every concert and record. Great communication and listening skills, deep human and musical understanding, a desire to amaze and surprise each time. In fact, every concert is different and surprising. The 5 musicians share the courage to seek out new flavours and new paths while keeping firmly rooted in their history and passions. Such an unusual frontline as that desired by Roberto with his soprano sax flanked by bass clarinet proved not only original but perfectly suited to best express the musical universe of Eternal Love. There are very few groups in the history of jazz that combine two such distinctive instruments with such originality and sonic freshness.Individually, each member of Eternal Love has had his or her own very well-defined and broad individual path over the years. By now, Alexander Hawkins is an internationally acclaimed musician not only for his pianistic and compositional talent but for his irrepressible desire to immerse himself in new experiences and sound worlds. Who can say that he has played and recorded with Anthony Braxton and Louis Moholo, with Marshall Allen and Evan Parker, with Shabaka Hutchings and Joe McPhee, with Wadada Leo Smith and Mulatu Astakè? His discography and concert activity are ample evidence of this. Listen to him in ‘Gare Guillemans’ and ‘Niki’! Marco Colonna is perhaps the least known of the group, but in recent years he has emerged strongly on the Italian and international scene as one of the most innovative and original clarinettists. Not only is he endowed with a sumptuous technique with which he masters the bass clarinet, but he also has a fervent ability to offer soloistic glimpses that are always connected to the plot of the piece. With convinced sincerity, I consider Marco one of the most original and incisive clarinetists active on the European scene today. Listen to him on this disc (especially in the Dolphyana introduction of ‘Niki’ and in the fiery solo of ‘Ohnedaruth’) and you will be ravished. An unmistakable and beautiful instrumental voice that has emerged in Italy in recent years… bravo Marco! Zeno De Rossi has such elastic, imaginative and never intrusive drumming in his hands and heart that has made him an indispensable drummer in many Italian jazz adventures of the last twenty years. From the splendid sounds of Guano Padano and Zenophilia, to partnerships with Vinicio Capossela, Franco D’Andrea, Francesco Bearzatti “Tinissima” his drumming is always a fundamental pivot thanks to his ability to listen and interact with discretion and incisiveness. Zeno sinks his drumming deep into the history of jazz to re-tune it and project it into the sounds of contemporary jazz. And finally, Giovanni Maier, a solid bass player with a great ear and ductility who in his vast musical career has sought to expand his way of experiencing contemporary jazz with a thousand facets a teacher at the Conservatory of Trieste, promoter of a thousand activities in his beloved Friuli, producer of a small but brilliant record label (Palomar) in which he has realised and documented many musical experiences and dreams in solo, duo, with some of his pupils and in large ensembles in which his talented (but alas never too highly valued) qualities as composer and arranger have finally seen the light of day. Five years have passed since the publication of the group’s debut album, and ‘People’ traces the evolution, the maturation, the amalgam that the group has achieved after so many concerts and successes collected throughout Europe. And it is no coincidence that this disc exclusively collects tracks recorded live at various festivals where the always enthusiastic participation of the public has favoured the fantastic interplay, cohesion, and desire to give themselves to the public of this splendid quintet, favoured by a repertoire that is different every time. I was lucky enough to attend two wonderful live concerts, at the Novara Jazz Festival and at the Turin Jazz Festival. The feeling that the group develops with the audience is something magical, and this greatly enriches the emotions that the group offers. The musicians’ visual expressions (glances, smiles, movements, winks…) during concerts are testimony to how much this group absorbs the vibrations, the magic of listening and the pleasure of listening that comes from the audience. And its brilliant performances at various European festivals (partly documented on this disc) are a brilliant confirmation of this. Long live Eternal Love! Thank you Zeno, Alexander Giovanni, Marco and especially thank you Roberto for creating this splendid group! Eternal concerts, Eternal festivals, Eternal records, Eternal Barolo, Eternal Love!

Roberto Ottaviano – soprano sax, vocals (6)
Marco Colonna – bass clarinet
Alexander Hawkins – piano
Giovanni Maier – double bass
Zeno De Rossi – drums