PICTURES

INFORMATION

DATE:
7 JULY 2004
 

TIME: 9,15 PM

PLACE:
Courtyard of Honour, Torrechiara Castle

MATT MUNISTERI & BROCK MUMFORD

 Once upon a time in America...

«The guy is unmissable, he’s ironic, thrilling, wonderful for the ears and the heart» (New Yorker).
«A pure songwriter who sings with a light voice a repertoire which is partly original and partly drawn from Hoagy Carmichael, Mildred Bailey or the neglected composer Willard Robison. Some might regard him as “a species on its way to extinction” but it could be argued that Munisteri, with his borrowings and his taste for puns and new combinations of sounds, as far removed from radicalism as they are from revival, is gifted with an absolutely contemporary sensitivity» (Corriere della Sera).
«They are musicians in love with the old songs of long ago. They play in the style of young jazz, that of the twenties and thirties, and in their improvisations they really let themselves go, they seem to fall into genuine trances, an unmissable show» (All About Jazz).
Matt Munisteri is a sophisticated guitarist and singer who has followed his own path outside the usual jazz circles and has developed an identity as musician and singer songwriter which is “beyond fashion”. His voice is clean, warm, ironic, poetic.
The mission Matt seems to have taken on is to dust off the old 78s and those apparently unfashionable musical styles like swing, waltzes and songs Sicilian grandmas used to sing and to revitalise them for what they are: lovely, direct music, not superficial. The result isn’t a simple reproduction but a very personal and original synthesis which even dares to take on a Bob Dylan classic, Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright, transforming it into something different and enthralling (to the point that the American online music bible, www.allmusic.com, even went so far as to suggest, seriously, it “might be the best Bob Dylan cover ever”).

The composition of the band which accompanies him is also absolutely original: Joseph Barbato on harmonica Jon-Erik Kellso on trumpet, and Danton Boller on double bass are all brilliant and open-minded jazz musicians, capable of contributing perfectly to the creation of four minute songs which are perfect and dense, always unpredictable.
 

Translation by Sarah J Hyde - www.thelanguage.biz
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