Artists
Marilena Paradisi vocal
Bob Nieske upright bass
CD info
Catalogue No: LOS 310-2
EAN: 7090025833106
ISRC:
1 Little B´s Poem (Bobby Hutcherson) 3:26 NO2NJ2410010
2 Black Nile (Wayne Shorter) 2:12 NO2NJ2410020
3 Crystal Silence (Chick Corea) 4:12 NO2NJ2410030
4 My Friend Flora (Astrud Gilberto) 2:27 NO2NJ2410040
5 Don´t Misunderstand (Gordon Parks) 2:48 NO2NJ2410050
6 Two For The Road (Henry Mancini) 3:51 NO2NJ2410060
7 Portrait In Black And White (A.C. Jobim / Italian lyrics Marilena Paradisi) 5:12 NO2NJ2410070
8 Del Sasser (Sam Jones) 2:52 NO2NJ2410080
9 Duke Ellington´s Sound Of Love (Charles Mingus / lyrics by William Shakespeare,
adapted by Marilena Paradisi from “The Merchant of Venice, act III scene II”) 2:36 NO2NJ2410090
10 Lawns (Carla Bley / lyrics Marilena Paradisi) 4:36 NO2NJ2410100
11 Chelsea Bridge (Billy Strayhorn) 2:31 NO2NJ2410110
12 Never Will I Marry (Frank Loesser) 2:31 NO2NJ2410120
Total Time: 39:14
Marilena Paradisi voice
Bob Nieske double bass
Artistic Project and arrangements by Marilena Paradisi & Bob Nieske
Recorded May 21, 2024 by Peter Kontrimas at PBS Studio Westwood, Boston, Mass. USA
Mixed and mastered by Clive Simpson at Extra Beat Studio, Rome, Italy
Produced by Marilena Paradisi
Executive producer Odd Gjelsnes
Front cover photo by Marilena Paradisi
Musician´s photo by Peter Kontrimas
Design by Max Franosch
Digisleeve in the link below:
Download Press Release (PDF)
Kjøp plater direkte fra Losen Records. Kr 200,- per CD inkl. porto. Vipps til 99 00 61 90 og mail navn og adresse til odd@losenrecords.no
It is the summer of 2024, and the heat is unprecedented. In Rome, the thermometer fluctuates between
30 and 40 degrees, but in this dormant and lazy climate, a real wave of freshness and vitality arrives.
We are listening to a new album, a project for voice and double bass, Here And Now, by the duo Marilena
Paradisi and Bob Nieske, released by the prestigious Norwegian label Losen Records.
The first thing you notice is the incredible understanding and “interplay” between the two musicians;
as if it was the music itself that chose them to play. But let’s talk about these two artists.
Marilena Paradisi, one of the most committed vocalists on the improvisation front. Her expression
ranges from jazz to contemporary music, and she is a great researcher in the use of the voice within the
experimental and improvisational field. Acclaimed by international critics for her interpretative skills and
her grasp of the text, but also for her highly original projects. As anyone who has followed this singer
for years knows, Paradisi’s choices are never mundane – always striving to construct something new,
something unexpected, something that must be listened to with attention.
She boasts collaborations of the highest level, to name just a few: Eliot Zigmund, Kirk Lightsey, Pietro
Leveratto, Renato Sellani, and Dino Piana. In the experimental field: the guitarist Arturo Tallini, and the
Japanese singer Michiko Hirayama, an icon of contemporary 20th century singing.
Here And Now the vocalist’s ninth CD, finds Paradisi alongside a true giant of the double bass, an integral
part of jazz history, Bob Nieske. He is rightly considered a refined composer, an original bandleader with an
outstanding CV in which the years spent as Jimmy Giuffre’s double bass player (from 1979 to 1992) and his
presence on Jimmy’s three Soul Note recordings are of particular note. His most acclaimed album Simplicity,
released in September 2000, was recorded by his trio with Phil Grenadier on trumpet and Nat Mugavero on
drums, together with the Lydian String Quartet.
As for the repertoire, the selection made by the two artists highlights once again, on the one hand, their
profound knowledge of the subject, on the other, the elegance of a style which knows no boundaries
and unites two characters bound, on this occasion, by the sole desire to express themselves beyond any
conditioning.
Hence a treasure chest containing twelve pearls of absolute brilliance whose composers are, in order of
execution: Bobby Hutcherson, Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, Astrud Gilberto, Gordon Parks, Henry Mancini,
Antonio Carlos Jobim, Sam Jones, Charles Mingus, Carla Bley, Billy Strayhorn, and Frank Loesser.
But beware, the treasure chest must be opened with caution and the pieces savoured one by one, because
a surprise is always just around the corner. The two artists perform with great commitment, developing
such a level of empathy that the entire recording session almost seems like a live concert.
Paradisi expresses herself at her best not only without fear of tackling even the most difficult passages,
but also by writing the lyrics to two of the songs: Portrait In Black And White by Jobim (Italian lyrics),
and Lawns by Carla Bley. On Duke Ellington’s Sounds Of Love by Charles Mingus, the vocalist sings William
Shakespeare to us! Yes, that’s right, a line from Shakespeare’s The Merchant Of Venice which Paradisi had
the courage to adapt to this splendid composition – in the context of that journey of union between the
arts that Paradisi has already undertaken in two of her albums, Rainbow Inside and Prelude For Voice And
Silence, both released by Silta Records, in which painting and improvisation are combined.
On Here And Now, Paradisi really gives us a taste of her immense capabilities. Here she is, in fact, using
her voice instrumentally on two songs, My Friend Flora by Astrud Gilberto and Chelsea Bridge by Billy
Strayhorn. Especially on the latter piece, Paradisi’s interpretation is truly grandiose, so much so that one
doesn’t even feel the lack of the text.
Text is superbly interpreted on Gordon Parks’ splendid ballad Don’t Misunderstand. But that’s not all; on
five other songs (Little B’s Poem, Crystal Silence, My Friend Flora, Two For The Road, Lawns) Paradisi
dares an original approach to improvisational vocal solos, not to be confused with “scat”, a technique that
Paradisi does not like, and it is not difficult to understand how risky the improvisational vocal technique is,
given that there are very few vocalists who successfully follow this path.
For his part, Bob Nieske confirms himself – if there was any need – as an artist of profound depth, a partner
of the highest level, who does not limit himself to accompanying Marilena’s splendid voice but is able to
intertwine and compose, in real time, extraordinary rhythmic phrases and melodic textures that exalt the
vocalist’s characteristics and give her new vital inspiration.
So, a wonderful album by Marilena Paradisi and Bob Nieske, one that ends beautifully with the irreverent
Never Will I Marry, where the two lines, the voice and the double bass, are so united that they seem to
merge into a single sound.
– Gerlando Gatto