Mirio Cosottini – trumpet | Tonino Miano – piano

Impressus 001 – Impressus Records in collaboration with GRIM, released March 2008 (CD-R)

Tracklist: 1. Rushdash 2. The Hunt 3. Nine Years Ago 4. Dialoghi di Traverso 5. Barcarolle 6. The Curvature Of Pace 7. Nebbia Nebbia

All the way from Italy comes this very enjoyable CD full of full-blown piano/trumpet improvisations from Mirio (trumpet) and Tonino (piano). The intro, “Rushdash”, is light/airy, with (as the title implies) a real “movement” to it. The second piece, “The Hunt”, is more sparse, definitely haunting, & full of strange oddistry. After a solid third listen to the entire album, I found that my favorite track was “Nine Years Ago”, probably because of the well-recorded piano… contrasts abound on this composition, too, with breath-tones galore from Cosottini’s trumpet providing counterpoint to the sweet sounds from Miano’s keyboard. Suffice it to say that it won’t be (exactly) what you expected… of course if you are a dedicated fan of improvisation, you wouldn’t want it to be anything less, right?

Very exploratory and rewarding musical experience, especially for listeners who refuse to accept “normal” in their adventures. I give this a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for any and all who want to hear the music of tomorrow – today! Rotcod Zzaj – Improvijazzation Nation, Issue #81, April 2008.

“Sounds seems perfectly placed without strenuous effort. There is a clear sense of two musicians being very familiar and relaxed in each other’s presence.[…] the music glows.” — Chris Kennedy, Musicworks #104, Summer 09.

“Featuring Mirio Cosottini on trumpet and Tonino Miano on piano. I can’t tell you anything about this most impressive Italian duo, except that one of them dropped us off a few copies recently. Being too busy with certain store responsibilities, Manny made me check this out and I’m glad he did. If I didn’t know better, I would think that this is Nate Wooley and Sylvie Courvoisier, perhaps. This is an inventive and well-matched duo that likes to push each into some intense and often tight-knit areas. Sometimes the piano has that eerie, dreamy effect, like we are drifting into another world.

On “The Hunt,” it sounds as if Tonino is rubbing something inside the piano, rather Denman Maroney-like while Mirio plays those twisted, fractured trumpet sounds. The combination of that mesmerizing bowed piano and small trumpet fragments is just right, quietly cosmic and somehow charming. Sometimes they slow things down to a snail’s pace so we can notice the textures of each note and sometimes they bring in bits of haunting melodies. Thanks Manny, for twisting my arm, it was well worth it. – BLG” – Downtown Music Gallery, April 2008.

Der inzwischen in der Bronx lebende Pianist Miano kollaboriert hier mit einem alten Bekannten, dem Trompeter Cosottini, mit dem er vor 9 Jahren schon Lorenzo Bruscis L’ultimo animale, sullo Zarathustra eingespielt hat. Cosottini, der 2007 die Musik zur TV-Dokumentation And They Came to Chicago: The Italian American Legacy beisteuerte, ist nicht nur studierter Philosoph, sondern auch Mitbegründer der GRIM (Music Improvisation Research Group), die das umweltfreundlich in Recyclingkarton verpackte Debut auf Mianos eigenem Label unterstützte.

Nach dem Uptempoeinstieg mit ‚rushdash‘ zeigen die beiden mit ‚the hunt‘ ihr Faible für phantastische Lautmalerei, mit gepressten Trompetenglissandos, rauem Stöhnen und spotzendem Schimpfen dazu kommen spitze, gespenstische Schleiftöne aus dem Innenklavier und trippelnde Treppenflucht auf den Tasten. Wer jagt in diesem Mad Movie wen? Bei ‚nine years ago‘ agiert Cosottini mit theatralischer Überblasvokalisation, während sein Partner besinnliche Erinnerungen perlt.

Die ‚dialoghi di traversa‘ entwickeln sich im munteren Kontrast, umso verzagter und trister klingt die anschließende ‚barcarolle‘ im Nieselregen, bis das Getröpfel so stark wird, dass die beiden die Beine unter den Arm nehmen. Nach dem schräg umeinander kurvenden, verschnatterten, gehämmerten Titelstück setzt ‚nebbia nebbia‘ den allerzartesten Schlusspunkt, das Klavier betthupferlt die quängelige Trompete in den Schlaf. Finger weg, Berlusconi! [BA 58 rbd]. Bad Alchemy, May 2008.

Brilliant trumpet & piano duo by a pair of Italian artists who have been working together for almost ten years, having had their fair share of excellent collaborations (Vinko Globokar, Zeena Parkins, Elliott Sharp, Jaap Blonk to name a few). Pianist and composer Miano lives in New York since 1993, while trumpeter Cosottini is a teacher of improvisation at the conservatory of Padua, Italy. The record is full of intense reflection, impulsive changes of mind, sinister small noises and, to end the whole in style, a beautifully melodic lullaby. Miano works a lot with the inside parts of the (prepared or less) instrument, at times recalling Keith Tippett in the use of bouncing metallic objects during the most concentrated arpeggios, contrasts between superimposed digital maneuvers and irritable, thudding low notes alternated to delicate touches of literate contrapuntal cleverness. Cosottini is one of those players who luckily tends to avoid sterile virtuosity, privileging instead the human factor of his timbre, often comparable to the voice of a wounded animal, even more frequently suspended halfway through a skeletal, hesitant explicitness and the will of joking, at any cost, with the sonic imagery just conjured up. The couple is not lacking in the sense of humour department, indeed; nevertheless, theirs is thoroughly serious music, replete with intriguing subtleties, still greatly fascinating after several consecutive listens. — Massimo Ricci, Touching Extremes, 2008.

“The notes splatter like fat rain drops on hot pavement […] Miano and Cosottini stand out”. — D. Dupont, Cadence Magazine, 789/08.

CD version (incl. shipment cost world-wide)

MP3 version (44.74MB zip download)