Cristiano Giardini | Odisseya • 33rpm Vinile 180gr. Numbered edition •

Vinyl 12'' 180 gram, black 33RPM.  Numbered Edition. 
Conceived as a live performance, without compromise. Excessive post-production can distort the spontaneity and immediacy that characterize classical and jazz music, leading to a homogenized sound that impoverishes the listening experience. Therefore, we chose to record the album live, avoiding any digital manipulation, to deliver an authentic and nuanced sound to the audience.
 
Odisseya - Cristiano Giardini
"The journey of Odisseya is just an example of what could be the journey of each of us, Odisseya is mine." Cristiano Giardini thus presents "Odisseya," a jazz concept album inspired by the journey as an inner adventure and personal growth. The album made as a quintet for Birdbox Records is available digitally from May 31, on 180gr vinyl and master tape from July. 
 
"Odisseya" was recorded at Nightingale Studios in Palombara Sabina, live with no editing alterations in post production. This allowed the music to take shape.
The album was well received by distinguished colleagues for its ability to evoke deep emotions and for the composer's instrumental mastery. Joe Lovano writes "Tell everybody I love it." Jerry Bergonzi compliments, "Great sound. Straight forward. Swingin' Band. Tradition!!!"; Paolo Fresu comments, "Beautifully energetic, well played and well written!"This new project marks another important chapter in Giardini's career, solidifying his status as an influential figure in the contemporary music scene.
 
Joining the Sicilian saxophonist in the recording studio were Luca Mannutza on piano, Sasha Mashin on drums, Kim Baiunco on double bass and Paolo Recchia on second sax. 
 
Cristiano Giardini, known for his collaborations with high-caliber musicians and his training at the Amsterdam Conservatory, where he studied with Ferdinand Povel and Jasper Blom; and where he was able to attend private lessons of jazz saxophone giants of the caliber of Joe Lovano, Dick Oatts, Michael Brecker, Bob Malach, to name a few. He has shared the stage with Ben Sidran, Andy Sheppard, James Morrison, Butch "Lawrence" Morrison, Bobby Durham, to name a few. Throughout his career Giardini has taken part in several musical projects both as a leader and sideman. And recorded numerous albums collaborating with various jazz ensembles. 
 
"Odisseya" was born from the story of places dear to him: Acitrezza and the stacks, or Islands of the Cyclops, linked to the Odyssey, Homer's epic poem. Like a new Ulysses, whose journey is a metaphor for knowledge and a symbol of the conquest of an identity and one's place in the order of things. Giardini embarks on his own journey by combining elements of jazz and experimental music, reflecting his life experience and deep musical understanding. A journey that is also, in fact, a demonstration of his human and compositional maturity.
 
"Odisseya" consists of 6 tracks, three on each side being a vinyl, whose titles are in Italian and Greek, a recurring epic element. It begins with "Il Viaggio," which has the inherent power of the idea of setting out on a mission such as the Trojan War, with unknown destination and unknown outcome. Ulysses' state of mind is transposed into music by Giardini with a sustained rhythm, suspended chords. Like the emblem of doubt and uncertainty of the human soul of those who do not know what to expect from the future but with a heart charged with vital energy. 
The second track is "La Tela" inspired by the myth of Penelope who weaves by day and unravels the web by night. Her endless discourse with loneliness and with her beloved, with a weave of opposing thoughts is offered in a double-themed dialogue between the two saxophones that weaves until it reaches the apex of pathos, only to dissolve everything and start again. 
 
Side 1 of the vinyl concludes with "La Tempesta," which represents the obstacles one may encounter in life. Those difficulties encountered by Odysseus on his return to Ithaca. The obstinacy of Olympus on his return. The hostilities one must face. The song begins with a rhythmic "ostinato" of the bass and pressing piano. Adversity makes people weak if we allow ourselves to be overwhelmed. The storm is the lack of stability. The saxophone in this piece is not harmonious but recalls the madness, the unexpected. Only the piano in closing brings back the longed-for serenity.
 
The First track on Side 2 is titled "Il Ciclope" is the most melodic and at the same time most "driven" track on the album with an incredible speed of execution. It is also the track that undoubtedly has the strongest reference to the story of Ulysses; and it encapsulates the connection with Giardini's homeland. Sicily, Acitrezza, where the Faraglioni, the mythological site of this clash between Ulysses and the Cyclops, are located. It represents the ability to overcome difficulties not by force but by cunning, intelligence and cunning. The attack of the passage recalls the blow that Odysseus unloads on Polyphemus. It is not a desire for revenge but for rebirth. The piece has an intricate harmonic structure that requires great technical and musical skill to perform correctly, especially at high speeds. With "Il Ciclope," Giardini playfully challenges the musicians not only technically but also in their ability to interpret and be creative. Like the Greek hero, musicians must face and overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges using intelligence, cunning and ingenuity. The harmonic hell that "Ulysses" must go through represents the complexity and difficulty of the piece, but also the beauty and satisfaction that come from overcoming such obstacles. The result is surprising and at the same time obvious aware of the talents of each of them and because of the amalgam created by the quintet. The piece is an ode to jazz improvisation.
It continues with "Il Silenzio," the most important journey, the introspective and inner journey. A deaf dialogue with one's self, the one with which one always has difficulty confronting. Giardini does it not without fear, to exorcise his own demons. It is that dialogue in solitude that makes us face life.
"Odysseya" concludes with "Le Mille Stelle," a love story whose original title was intended in English "The thousand words i never told you." Dedicated to a special woman. Giardini wrote the song by identifying himself as Odysseus and imagining himself in the middle of the sea, on a boat, at night in the Mediterranean Sea thinking and blaming himself for "having gone to war" for the "misadventures" that took him away from her: "A star for all the things I never told you."