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Nino Rota, Federico Fellini, & Richard Galliano's All-Stars
11 years ago
General
NINO ROTA by Richard Galliano (Deutsche Grammophon)
http://www.amazon.com/Nino-Rota-Ric.....f=cm_cr-mr-img
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005NNJL....._new_dp_review
reviewed by Roochak
Of Nino Rota's 145 film scores, the handful that he wrote for Federico Fellini -- and, inevitably, the famous themes from Coppola's THE GODFATHER -- are what Galliano and company explore on this recording, and why not? It's the circus music of LA STRADA, vulgar, sweetly comic, and emotionally wrenching, that this quintet explores at greatest length, its themes threading through the album like a leitmotif of melancholy gaiety.
"Music should not be intellectual, but intelligent," a student of Rota's recalled. The jazz quintet that Galliano assembled for this project handles everything the scores can throw at them, from AMARCORD's foxtrots to the sardonic bossa nova of JULIET OF THE SPIRITS, to LA DOLCE VITA's medley of ritual percussion music, cool jazz, and samba.
I VITELLONI's mini-medley starts with a haunting waltz for accordion and soprano sax, leading to a jaunty, swinging theme for walking bass, muted trumpet, and sax. Galliano dusts off his trombone for an unaccompanied rendition of the GODFATHER waltz, and arranges that film's famous love theme (a recycled, slowed-down revision of a march that Rota had written years earlier, for a comedy) as a duet for accordion and bass.
If Americans were capable of taking the accordion seriously, Galliano's music wouldn't be such a hard sell in this country. The magnificent music making on this disc just might change a few minds.
Richard Galliano, accordion & trombone
Dave Douglas, trumpet
John Surman, soprano saxophone & alto clarinet
Boris Kozolov, bass
Clarence Penn, drums
http://www.amazon.com/Nino-Rota-Ric.....f=cm_cr-mr-img
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005NNJL....._new_dp_review
reviewed by Roochak
Of Nino Rota's 145 film scores, the handful that he wrote for Federico Fellini -- and, inevitably, the famous themes from Coppola's THE GODFATHER -- are what Galliano and company explore on this recording, and why not? It's the circus music of LA STRADA, vulgar, sweetly comic, and emotionally wrenching, that this quintet explores at greatest length, its themes threading through the album like a leitmotif of melancholy gaiety.
"Music should not be intellectual, but intelligent," a student of Rota's recalled. The jazz quintet that Galliano assembled for this project handles everything the scores can throw at them, from AMARCORD's foxtrots to the sardonic bossa nova of JULIET OF THE SPIRITS, to LA DOLCE VITA's medley of ritual percussion music, cool jazz, and samba.
I VITELLONI's mini-medley starts with a haunting waltz for accordion and soprano sax, leading to a jaunty, swinging theme for walking bass, muted trumpet, and sax. Galliano dusts off his trombone for an unaccompanied rendition of the GODFATHER waltz, and arranges that film's famous love theme (a recycled, slowed-down revision of a march that Rota had written years earlier, for a comedy) as a duet for accordion and bass.
If Americans were capable of taking the accordion seriously, Galliano's music wouldn't be such a hard sell in this country. The magnificent music making on this disc just might change a few minds.
Richard Galliano, accordion & trombone
Dave Douglas, trumpet
John Surman, soprano saxophone & alto clarinet
Boris Kozolov, bass
Clarence Penn, drums
MKaz
~mkaz
As a young film buff I spent many an hour watching the films of Fellini, and became a fan of Nino Rota. I may have to give these new recordings a listen...
roochak
~roochak
OP
Michel Legrand's jazzy, swinging film scores made him my soundtrack composer of choice, but it took me a long time to appreciate the bittersweet nostalgia of Rota's music.
desiring_change
~desiringchange
Funnily enough I just picked up the new release of La Dolce Vita.
