Album of the day: Furio Di Castri, “The need to go…”
Furio Di Castri
“The Need to Go Down” (Cd Parco Della Musica MPR005)
An entire CD made with the double bass would seem at first sight a desperate, almost suicidal undertaking; but if the musician at the
At the helm of this enterprise is Furio Di Castri and you can be sure that the final result will be able to convince even the most skeptical.
A true master of his instrument, Di Castri boasts an international career, with prestigious collaborations in the jazz field and many albums under his name.
His extraordinary musical sensitivity, the beauty of his sound, his astonishing technical virtuosity and last but not least his sense of humour allow him to travel for an hour in perfect solitude in this concert (recorded live at the Auditorium in Rome in February 2006) making time pass in a flash with exciting results for their excellence and creativity.
Assisted only by a sprinkling of electronics (which includes various echoes, reverbs, loops and even a witty sampling of Alberto Sordi’s voice) as well as percussive effects that the author himself reveals to have created with “fingers, fists and caresses on the body of the instrument, but also plastic bags, torn paper, wooden and plastic Chinese sticks, drumsticks and brushes”, Di Castri incredibly transforms the sound of the instrument, moving nimbly between swing, funk, more reflective electronic textures not disjoined from oriental influences, sensational passages at speed and moments with an intensely lyrical structure, also paying homage to illustrious colleagues such as Charlie
Mingus (“X Love”) and Duke Ellington (“The Ellington Connection”).
One often gets the feeling that it is a whole group of different musicians playing rather than just one, such is the variety of musical figures and colours that Di Castri magically extracts from the double bass, which reveals itself to be an extremely protean instrument when entrusted to the hands of an authentic sorcerer such as Furio reveals himself once again.
The unstoppable drive of “The Happy Beat”, the melodically austere passacaglia of “The Bass and His Double” and the theme of “Madrugada” (inspired by Salvador Allende’s last speech) are just three of the many memorable episodes that make up this album.
Listen to it, it will change your mind about the possibilities of this instrument, offering you a listening experience of rare intensity.
Carlo Boccadoro, composer and conductor, was born in Macerata in 1963. He lives and works in Milan. He collaborates with soloists and orchestras in different parts of the world. He is the author of numerous books on musical subjects.
This text is taken from “Lunario della musica: Un disco per ogni giorno dell’anno” published by Einaudi, courtesy of the author and the publisher.
