Search - Rosario Giuliani :: Mr Dodo

I respect this record more than like it

Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 06/22/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Although, what's not to like? This young man (35, when this was recorded) is by all accounts a remarkable jazzman. And he's not Rudy's father (nor is he his son). Plus, you can probably only get away with being called Rosario if you're Italian. Which he is. The first thing one notices is his tone--very bright, slightly sour, almost no vibrato, aggressive, and absolutely in the center of the pitch. At times he will mellow out slightly, and, surprisingly, not necessarily just on ballads. Take, for example, his original, "Sortie," with its tricky rhythms and mid-tempo swing. Here, he sounds as laid-back as anywhere on this disc, perhaps a counter-move to the fractured time of this piece. In any case, it's very effective. And on the gorgeous ballad "Home" by Michel Petrucianni he unleashes a ravishing tone to match its compositional beauties. This, for me, along with a spirited take of Ornette Coleman's "The Blessing," is the high point of the disc.Of the originals, "By Night For Ever," a faux-Latin number, "Sortie," and "Monsieur F. D." strike me as the best. On the latter, he injects a David Murray-ish staccato approach that's very effective. "Mimi," a straight-ahead burner, opens with some unique rapid-fire ensemble playing, then settles into a high-powered, insanely swinging groove. And here's where the trouble starts for me. One can scarcely fail to be blown away by the technical mastery of the band as they cruise through the trickiest bop parts in total control, with the leader not least in deftly navigating this tonal/rhythmic minefield. But to what end? To paraphrase an astute reviewer commenting on a somewhat callow player in her first outing, just playing a lot of notes doesn't make for great jazz. But I suppose the desire to show off chops is almost irresistible for a young (esp. European) player just coming up the ranks. And to be fair, the majority of the pieces here eschew the virtuoso approach, with about an equal amount of hard-bop/post-bop mid-to-up-tempo numbers and ballads.A note about his soprano playing which he showcases on two cuts, "Francy's" Song" (for Francy Boland of the Clarke-Boland Big Band?), a ballad, and "The Cover," a waltz. He achieves a pleasant enough, if slightly pinched tone, perhaps too reedy for some tastes, but certainly avoiding the Kenny G/jazz-lite school. Yet, there's really nothing to especially distinguish him on this horn, so again, one wonders, what's the point?All in all, this is quite a fine disc, impeccably played, with many genuinely beautiful passages. Why the chintzy holding back of one star? I just don't think it's all completely come together for this man yet. If he keeps at it, he will very likely come up with an absolutely stellar disc; he certainly has the chops and the basic concept down. When he comes fully into his own voice, watch out. He could be a monster."