FEATURING MARC RIBOT | CD 1

Marc Ribot: electric guitar (ail tracks except 1. Mainly on the right channel) | Simone Massaron: electric guitar, fretless electric guitar, electric lap steel, noises & loops (all tracks except 6,7 and 9. Mainly on the iett channel) | Giorgio Pacorig: Rhodes electric piano, Farfisa Matador organ | Alfonso Santimone: keyboards, laptop, samples, Rhodes electric piano, broken guitar, meiodica | Giovanni Maier: electric bass | Zeno de Rossi: drums

Recorded by Stefano Amerio at Artesuono Recording Studio, Cavalicco (UD), Italy, June 13th 2007. Mixed by Stefano Amerio, Fabrizio Perissinotto and Giovanni Maier at Arresuono Recording Studio, Cavalicco (UD], Italy, August 31st and September 1st 2007. Mastered by Maurizio Giannotti at Bips Studio Milano, Italy.

PRODUCED BY FABRIZIO PERISSINOTTO. Astronaut by Caroia Ghilardi (www.carotaghilardi.com) | Cover, back cover, inlay card and CD’s artwork by Elena Raffa (elenaraffart@yahoo.it) | Booklet inside by AB Crea (www.abcrea.it). Photos by Luca d’Agostino (www.lucadagostino.it). Thanks to: Aurelia, Enrico Decoile, Mauro Kellner, Lizia, FIFF.  Alfonso Santimone and Zeno de Rossi appear courtesy of El Gallo Rojo Records (www.elgaliorojorecords.com). Zeno likes UFIP cymbals. Booking: mosaic@alice.it

Tracklist: 1.SEGOVIA (05:30) 2. EL MATADOR (05:09) 3. THIS IS MY VOICE (07:54) 4. L’lNAFFERRABILE FASCINO DELL’INCOMPLETEZZA (05:04) 5. FIFF (03:55) (Giovanni Maier, Marc Ribot, Simone Massaron, Giorgio Pocorig, Alfonso Santimone, Zeno de Rossi) 6. OLD FILE (08:21) 7. MISS T. (06:43) 8. MANAROLA SONG (06:05) 9. VILLA SANTINA (08:47) 10. MARC’S MARK (07:58) ( Giovanni Maier, Marc Ribot, Simone Massaron, Giorgio Pacorig, Alfonso Santimone, Zeno de Rossi)

All compositions by Giovanni Maier except where noted.

A TURTLE SOUP | CD2

Giorgio Pacorig: Rhodes electric piano, Farfisa Matador organ | Alfonso Santimone: keyboards, laptop, samples, Rhodes electric piano, broken guitar, melodica | Giovanni Maier: electric bass, cello | Zeno de Rossi: drums

Recorded by Stefano Amerio at Artesuono Recording Studio, Cavalicco (UD), Italy, February 16th and 17th 2007. Mixed by Stefano Amerio, Fabrizio Perissinotto and Giovanni Maier at Artesuono Recording Studio, Cavalicco (UD], Italy, May 7th and 8th 2007. Mastered by Maurizio Giannotti at Bips Studio Milano, Italy.

PRODUCED BY FABRIZIO PERISSINOTTO. Astronaut by Caroia Ghilardi (www.carotaghilardi.com) | Cover, back cover, inlay card and CD’s artwork by Elena Raffa (elenaraffart@yahoo.it) | Booklet inside by AB Crea (www.abcrea.it). Photos by Luca d’Agostino (www.lucadagostino.it). Thanks to: Aurelia, Enrico Decoile, Mauro Kellner, Lizia, FIFF. Alfonso Santimone and Zeno de Rossi appear courtesy of El Gallo Rojo Records (www.elgaliorojorecords.com). Zeno likes UFIP cymbals. Booking: mosaic@alice.it

Tracklist: 1. AEROPAGODS (12:21) 2. SAN GIOVANNI  (07:27)  3. GRANDI SPERANZE (06:43)  4. PROMETEUS (10:23) 5. ARPEGGI  (08:48) 6. ONE LONG SONG (11 :53) (Giovanni  Maier, Giorgio. Pacorig, Alfonso Santimone, Zeno de Rossi, F. Perissinotto)

All compositions by Giovanni Maier except where noted. Grande Speranze and Prometeus published by Edizioni musicali Stefano Amerio.

Featuring Marc Ribot + A Turtle Soup

is an ambitious double cd containing two sessions by the new quartet led by Giovanni Maier, “Technicolor”. Giovanni Maier is a skilled and critically acclaimed double bass player. His style is strong and intense, his attack on strings thunderous and precise. Among his many prestigious collaborations over the years: the famous “Italian Instabile Orchestra” and Enrico Rava (most famous Italian jazzman) Electric Quintet. Giovanni has just been voted “best Italian bass player” in the prestigious “Musica Jazz” magazine 2007 year’s end poll. With Technicolor Maier switches to electric bass, with a particular line-up with two electric keyboards (keyboards wizards Alfonso Santimone and Giorgio Pacorig) plus rhythm section (Maier plus drums rising star Zeno De Rossi).

Italian Giovanni Maier

proves that everything old can be new (meaning fresh) again. The conservatory trained bassist has been a member of the Italian Instabile Orchestra, The Enten Eller project, and the bands of Enrico Rava and Stefano Battaglia. This two-disc release finds Maier’s quartet of two electric keyboards Alfonso Santimone and Giorgio Pacorig and drummer Zeno de Rossi with Maier playing electric bass and some cello, augmented by two electric guitars. Maier’s quartet Turtle Soup immediately reminds you of the seminal fusion band Weather Report. The keyboard work is a gripping tribute to Joe Zawinul, drawing from the unique electricity and clean sound of the master. Listeners may find Maier’s bass to be more Victor Bailey than Jaco Pastorious and drummer de Rossi reminds you of Omar Hakim rather than Peter Erskine, but classic WP is ever present.

The quartet disc opens with a lengthy meditative piece that picks up pace by the locomotion of Maier’s bass interaction with the drummer. Soon the probing stabs of the keyboards introduce the identity of this band and its vintage vibe. They take you back to a time before jam bands, when the rock component of fusion didn’t automatically subtract musicianship. The softer and funkier “San Giovanni” follows, but there’s also the burning rock’d-out “Grandi Speranze,” the mind bending “Prometeus” and the progressively wild “One Long Song.” Like his previous work in the band Enten Eller, Maier’s music morphs and awakens when guest artists collaborate. Here the band is supplemented by two eclectic guitarists, Marc Ribot and Simone Massaron. The lesser known of the two, Massaron can be heard on Tiziano Tononi’s Peace Warriors: Forgotten Children (Black Saint,2007) a tribute to Ornette Coleman and his own Breaking News (Long Song,2005) with Elliott Sharp.

The duo of guitars produces plenty of shred (as can be expected) and distortion heard on the freely improvised piece “FIFF.” This pairing also yields a calmer sound on “This Is My Voice,” similar to Ribot’s playing with his Los Cubano Postizos band.

With the influence of Maier’s electricity, the writing gives you the fusion rocking tracks “’Inafferrabile Fascino Dell’,” Incompletezza,” and “Miss T.” Here, Massaron and Ribot go toe-to-toe unfurling references to Jeff Beck and Mike Stern. And while kicking out the jams might pacify the riotous fan, the more experimental “Manarola Song” with its herky-jerky approach or the bluesy “Old File” with its slow building tension and energy are tracks that leave lasting impressions. — All About Jazz

Giovanni Maier Technicolor with Marc Ribot & Zeno de Rossi

featuring Marc Ribot/A Turtle Soup [2 CD set] (Long Song 105; Italy) Featuring Marc Ribot & Simone Massaron on guitars, Giorgio Pacorig & Alfonso Santimone on keyboards, Giovanni Maier on bass and Zeno De Rossi on drums. It never ceases to amaze how many under-recognized treasures we get here every week from around the world. This is the fourth disc we’ve gotten from the great little Italian label, Long Song, and each one has been a gem. How can you go wrong with the likes of Nels Cline & Elliott Sharp and the swell Amendola/Goldberg/Hoff plays Monk trio?!? The first Long Song disc featured Nels Cline & Simone Massaron on guitars and Giovanni Maier on bass with Daniele Cavallanti as the leader on saxes. For this incredible double disc, Giovanni Maier is the leader with the burning guitars of Marc Ribot & Simone Massaron. Plus our old pal, Zeno De Rossi, who can be found on many discs on the El Gallo Rojo label is on drums.

The first disc features both guitarists and two fine keyboard players. Bassist, Giovanni, wrote all but two of the pieces. “Segovia” bristles with some sly organ, electric piano and bent, burning guitar(s)! Both keyboardists play Rhodes electric pianos, various organs and other keyboards, and a swell job of creating various moods and textures for the guitarists to solo upon. “This is My Voice” is a spacious, laid-back piece for that mysterious Ribot suspense twang that Marc does so well with eerie echoes of keyboard waves floating in the mist. The band kicks in for “L’Inaferrabile Fascino…,” which as an infectious melody and layers of rocking guitars and keyboards. “FIFF” is one of the two completely improvised pieces and it works so well since each musician listens well and contributes to the layers on inter-connected lines. This music is a unique rock/jazz hybrid that is difficult to pigeonhole, yet remains intense and creative and focused throughout.

“Old File” features some superb electric bass at the center of a Quicksilver-like spaghetti western guitar jam. Downtown guitar hero, Marc Ribot, takes a number of great solos here, showing how there is just no stopping him when he wants to go for the gusto. His solo on “Old File” is just jaw droppingly incredible! Giovanni’s songs are also consistently memorable and remind me of the some of the better bands from the early 70′s, when players still combined various genres without regard to established formulas. — Downtown Music Gallery

It’s old news by now that the ’70s are back

in a big way. Italian bassist Giovanni Maier has boned up on the fusion masters, and this two- disc set featuring his Technicolor quartet displays the lessons he has learned. But while he has been an attentive student, he hasn’t heeded the cautionary tales his forebears provide, and there is much here that stumbles over the familiar obstacles of excess and indulgence. Aside from three group improvisations, all of the tunes were penned by Maier, and the Weather Report influence is never out of mind for long, even when the music visits the outerspace orbit of Sun Ra’s Arkestra.

The tunes split fairly evenly between atmospheric jams and pop-funk grooves, the former ending up the more successful; Maier’s melodies strive for Joe Zawinul-style hummability but veer toward anthemic simplicity, resulting too often in bubblegum-prog that cloys rather than catches. On disc one, Featuring Marc Ribot, Maier creates settings for the Downtown guitar virtuoso and Italian counterpart Simone Massaron to roam free, for better or worse. Ribot gets the chance to show off several of his familiar guises, from bludgeoning metal gymnastics to mournful folk-sure twang. He pairs well here with Alfonso Santimone, whose laptop conjures a decaying industrial landscape, which frames some of the guitarist’s harshest explorations.

The second disc, A Turtle Soup, foregoes the guest stars and let the quartet come to the fore. Throughout both discs, Maier cedes the spotlight, especially to his dual-keyboard frontline: Giorgio Pacorig on Rhodes and Farfisa and Santimone on a variety of modern and retro devices. But the leader’s subtle work is the group’s backbone, at times beating in lockstep with drummer Zeno de Rossi, at others scything melodic paths through the synth-drone undergrowth. — Downbeat

Double CD version (incl. shipment cost world-wide)