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Stefano Battaglia - Raccolto
ECM seems to be turning to the Italian scene lately. I'd encountered Battaglia before via Atem, a very strong quintet disc on Splasc(h) which was a mix of brief improvs and a couple rhapsodic classical pieces that reminded me of the more passionate moments on Bryars' After the Requiem. When I heard it I thought "Hm, it's only a matter of time till ECM gets their hands on Battaglia" & it's come to pass. This is a 2-CD set (though both CDs are relatively brief--the whole album is 105 minutes in total). CD 1 is a piano trio with bassist Giovanni Maier and percussionist/drummer Michele Rabbia; it's about half compositions (mostly near-still chordal things with subtle dissonanaces) and half improvs. Bley & Jarrett are the touchstones, though Battaglia's way of building entire improvs out of a single rhythmic/melodic cornerstone is very much his own; he's often more concerned about using the piano as a source of colour, space, & rhythm in an orchestral or percussive manner, rather than spinning lines. Disc two has violinist Dominique Pifarely replacing the bassist, and there's a lot more of a classical tinge here--I was variously reminded of everyone from Bartok to Mompou (maybe because I'd been listening to both lately), though I suspect he's also well-acquainted with Crispell. Pifarely gets some truly nasty sounds out of his violin from time to time & this is definitely tarter & more acerbic than your average ECM release. Disc one's grown on me but I still feel that disc two is the stronger of the two. There are some spots where I wish Battaglia would let an idea drop rather than weaving an entire episode from it (mostly on disc 1) but his liking for insistent-to-the-point-of-irritation repetition does at least prevent the music from going all floaty like some ECM piano dates.
Bottom line: a weightier, less witty album than Atem & I miss Michel Godard's presence; but it's still a fine album, balancing the mandatory ECM cool beauty with some genuine heat & acidity.
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