Claudio Cojaniz & Franco Feruglio - Blue Africa (2013)

This is the seventh Caligola Cd for Claudio Cojaniz. After exploring blues, Ellington and Monk, he goes back to Africa, to the roots of Jazz. «Blue Africa» was recorded with the invaluable double bass of Franco Feruglio, who comes from the same area. The album is a striking journey through the different African music traditions, reworked with the original creativity of a contemporary improviser. Mostly sifted through Abdullah Ibrahim, Africa had already appeared in two of his recent works like «Howl», with the NION Orchestra (African Market and Medicine Man), and «The hearth of the Universe», with the A.P. Trio (A.P. dance, Great spirit and Teacher in the Universe). The Friulian pianist tells us about this meditated and intense work: “the duo expresses itself making use of African atmospheres, moving in an original way between maternal and children’ sing–songs, evocations of astral blues and ritual dances. It doesn’t hit off this great and variegated culture, there isn’t any invasion: instead the Cd takes inspiration from it and reinterprets it with great respect. Thus Africa as great and loving Mother, present and eternal. It’s a great Art this one that can take us back into an antidepressant and serious game, like children are serious when they play… in the meantime the white man is more and more faded”. Instead Cojaniz’s music is full of colours, a palette that goes from the flame red of Lion’s trip, to the soft pink of At nightfall, a ballad characterized by a jazzy mood with twilight tones. However it’s most of all the double bass played with the bow by Feruglio that gives a maestoso modulation to the hypnotic melodies of Shining Kilimanjaro, Ya–Hamba, whispered prayer, and Freedom & flowers, which has the lilt of a sweet lullaby. Nevertheless the “child” inside Cojaniz suddenly changes his direction: he can dream but run breathlessly too, he can speed up the rhythms, going back to a more vigorous blues, in DK blues and Quicksand, taking inspiration from Monk and Duke respectively, or involving us in the joyful Caribbean dance of Gerson “the dog” rumba. An album to listen to all the way through, travelling back in time in a way, but not so much to escape the present as to try to give it dignity again.