Giovanni Mirabassi - Prima O Poi (2005)

Creating that perfect album is as tricky as setting up the heist of a maximum security bank. Plans need time to mature, a milllion dreams are etched out and friends you can trust are kept waiting in the wings. Everything is suspended in time until the right day comes along; then it all swings into action as naturally as can be. Giovanni Mirabassi was bound to succeed, "sooner or later". This 35 year old Italian jazz pianist has been a lone ranger on the French jazz scene for many years. In 1998 he earned widespread critical acclaim by 'breaking into' that scene with the meticulous, high-precision Architectures. In 2001 he made a louder impact with Avanti - a series of revolutionary songs transformed into jazz standards. Then, in 2003, he dared to go one step further with Air, where a three way dialogue between a piano, a trombone and a bugle took flight. Yet Mirabassi remained in the sidelines, waiting for the day when he would make his mark. Now the day has finally come.

Mirabassi's accomplices are Louis Moutin - who provides perfect beat craftsmanship, Gildas Bocle who pinches the bass strings and then lets them slide, as well as Flavio Boltro whose trumpet is sharp enough to crack open the hardest of safes. The record is out on a new label, and this influx of oxygen is the final element that has set the ball rolling. Mirabassi has proved wrong all the critics who accused him of 'not playing real jazz', and who chastised him for getting too close to the murky waters of Romanticism. With this successful musical hold up, nine jewels have been snatched up and set free from the musical quagmire they were destined for.

This is a genuine jazz record and it's exactly the kind of jazz you'd want to listen to in 2005. It makes no effort to sound commercial, all the better to engage in a musical exchange with the listener. This jazz is free spirited, groovy and fun. It's well put together yet utterly spontaneous. –Bruno Costemalle, AllMusic

Tracklist:

01. Ero io 5:36
02. Il bandolero stanco 5:10
03. Barcarole 5:05
04. Gettin' in … 1:19
05. Howl's moving castle 4:37
06. Symphomaniax 3:58
07. Minor voyage 8:03
08. Tot ou tard 5:05
09. L'ingegnere 6:53
10. Lloro 4:45

Musicians:
Giovanni Mirabassi - Piano
Gildas Bocle - Double Bass
Louis Moutin - Drums
Flavio Boltro - Trumpet