Search - Paolo Rustichelli :: Capri

Quite a guest list on this album, including a great performa

J. Lund | SoCal, USA | 12/03/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"CAPRI is a consistently strong album by Italian keyboardist Paolo Rustichelli (issued in Eurpoe in 1992 and the USA a year later). The tracks have a lot of variety, but in general reflect similar jazz/funk directions pursued by Miles Davis in the final years prior to his death in 1991. In other words, more electric than acoustic.



Which leads to arguably the most notable aspect of this album: the guest list. When Miles Davis was touring in Italy in 1990 he was exposed to Paolo's music via a demo, and was sufficiently impressed to visit his home recording studio to cut the stunningly beautiful ballad "Capri," heard here in two versions (one with Miles mostly muted, the other with him on open trumpet). I'd call that track worth the price of the album by itself, yet there's more. Carlos Santana is effective on "Full Moon," ex-Police guitarist Andy Summers is heard on "El Topo," Herbie Hancock adds more keyboards to "Bold Man," and the always-outstanding reedman Wayne Shorter is a part of FOUR cuts ("Femmes," "Bokrug," "El Topo," and "Black Plastic"). Overall CAPRI may not be a classic album (albeit there's some classic moments), but it is above-average, not only due to the guests but also because of Paolo's talents. Just the fact that so many legendary musicians participated in the project indicates how respected the keyboardist is.



Note: Additional music with Miles' trumpet appears on subsequent Paolo albums, but "Capri" is the most fully-realized contribution by Davis from these sessions."