Elvis Costello - My aim is true

Sometimes it's really strange the way I choose CDs! Normally I read reviews on specialized magazines. But it's not enough. It's also important the impression after listening a couple of tunes. On the radio. Or on the Tv. Sometimes I search the web looking for some hints. But sometimes the way I choose is a little bit crazy. I'm driven by something that has nothing to do with the quality of the final product.

This is the case of my last choice. An album from Elvis Costello. My aim is true. It was originally released in 1977. It's his debut album. Ok, maybe it's better to start from the beginning. I really don't know much about Elvis Costello. But at least I know his name. I know he married Diana Krall. I know the he his famed to be a good musician. Stop. Nothing more. The first time I have heard some of his music was in a movie. Yes a movie. I'm talking about an Austin Power's episode. I have seen a cameo with Costello and Bacharach playing a nice tune in a Swinging London overcrowded by strange hippies. That's it. All my knowledge about Costello's music is related to those few frames.

No doubt that my curiosity has been touched. But nothing more. For years I didn't feel the needs to understand better. But recently I have fallen in love with a guitar. It's a Fender. Jazzmaster is the name. It was designed for Jazz. It's rare and not fully understood by many guitar players. But what does this guitar has to so with Elvis Costello and with my choice? A lot! Costello is one of the few (probably a little snob?) that did choose the Jazzmaster as his main guitar.

I had a look at the cover of the CD with this man and his crazy posture holding this amazing Jazzmaster. It was impossible to resist. I was pushed to buy the De Luxe Edition. Ok, the De luxe Edition is just marketing (Live + Demos). Probably it's not worth the extra money. But the original version of the album is just surprisingly! Any track is so full of energy. It sounds so fresh and true. It has a lo-fi flavor, like a demo tape. But all the album is absolutely powerful. Romantic tunes like Alison are paired with rock'n'roll attitude like in Welcome to the Working Week, Miracle Man or the wonderful Waiting for the End of the World.

My aim is true is a great debut album. It's pure rock'n'roll well spiced up with some punk, jazz and blues. It's the product of a fresh talent. Maybe a little bit rough here and there but so funny. It sounds new. Even today. It's a little bit surprising to me that Elvis Costello after all is not so known to the mass. Maybe it's a choice. I don't know. But after all what makes me smile is that my crazy method of choice was (this time too?) successful and made me find a real jewel.

Jaco Pastorius & 9/11

I've recently been at a Billy Cobham show. Great technique. A real rhythm machine. Not so great when talking about emotions. Drum is a rhythm tool. Not a lead instrument. A drummer cannot be the main attraction in a band. The same is for bass guitar. It cannot be the lead instrument. Otherwise it could turn out to be really boring. This is the rule.

But any good rule has its own exception. In this case the only exception is an American guy quickly destroyed by his own madness during a short life dominated by any kind of excess. Jaco. For the ones with a minimum musical knowledge it's useless to tell anything else. Behind this name there is the greatest bass player ever. The only one able to break all the rules. The only one to turn bass guitar into a lead instrument. Simply incomparable.

Like it's said for Jimi Hendrix for Jaco Pastorius too is true that:"...the star that shines the double lives half time!". And his life has been too short. As soon as he did reach some fame madness started to appear. In a few months his decline has started. He introduced himself to Joe Zawinul as the greatest bass guitar player in the world. And he has shown to be it despite of the initial fu...ff received as an answer. With success he did also experience some mental disease that shortly took him away from the showbiz. And from his own life too. In the very last months of his life Jaco lived like a homeless. Without a dime in his pocket. Deeply addicted to alcohol and drugs. At the age of 35 he did meet his Death. Early. Too much early. And violently.

Jaco's legend started in 1976 when he was only 25. In that year he released his own masterpiece: Jaco Pastorius. This album kicked him directly into history. To hear Portrait of Tracy could be a shock. The way he plays the fretless bass, the deepness of his sound and the emotions coming out from his music could drive anyone to stop playing bass guitar. For ever. No human being can reach such a level. It's not a problem of technique. It's something related to feelings. No one can learn it! From this point he started many projects with well known musicians. Weather Report, Pat Metheny, Joni Mitchell just to name a few.

As long as his success got bigger also his mental disease did. Favored by the alcohol and drugs (ab)use. He always walked on the razor's edge. Until the final day. 9/11 is without any doubt related to NYC and the Twin Towers. Anyway also music has its own 9/11. On 9/11/1987 Jaco had a violent fight with a security guy outside a disco. He was seriously wounded and the result was his death after a few days. Twenty years ago, during another sad 9/11, has been killed the greatest bass guitar player ever. Jaco Pastorius. One & Only!

Some (un)usual things to do in Paris

For sure Paris is one of the most fascinating city in Europe. Probably in the whole world too. It's rich. It's wide. It's modern and ancient. In one word it is simply wonderful. Paris could be really expensive. If you are looking for hotels in Paris you must be ready to pay higher rates than in other European cities. Anyway, using some web sources, it's not so hard to find cheap hotels with a good level of service and comfort. After having found out a good place to sleep in the city it's time to go. You can live Paris as a common tourist. Take a look at it with one of those nasty Sightseeing Bus. Or you can choose differently. You could try to live Paris in a slight different way. Maybe with the help of a local. Or at least you could try to do both. Visit the main tourists attractions. And then spend some time to discover hidden or just unusual places.

For the institutional part of the trip it's wise not to forget a visit at the Tour Eiffel. Nothing is more tourists related than taking a picture of the tower. But anyway this is a true symbol of Paris and it would be a real madness not to take a close look at it! At least one time in a life it's a must. Another special place, packed with tourists, is the Louvre Museum. No one while visiting Paris should miss this place. Just to have a look at the outside of the building and at the broad square where it was built is simply a breathtaking experience. If you want to deeply visit the exhibition it would take 3 to 5 days. Too much. Just skip anything but the Mona Lisa. It would be perfect if you have recently seen the Da Vinci code movie. Visiting the Louvre will be a completely different trip! To conclude the first part of the itinerary a quick visit to Notre Dame Cathedralis just perfect. Stop here. Nothing more. This would be enough to tell your friend about usual Paris.

Let's now start with the fun. Or at least with the less usual track. The starting point could be a free walk in the Marais. It's very nice to walk within this district without a goal apart the building-watching. It's amazing to breathe the special atmosphere propelled by the crowd of young crazy designer and their ateliers. After this could be really nice to stop in one of the thousand Cafè just to relax as a real Parisienne drinking a cup of coffee.

For the night, if the budget is not a problem, a valid option is a dinner at Buddha Bar. One of the most glamorous restaurant in Paris. Anyway a visit for a drink to see the place is strongly recommended. For a 5 star experience a glass of a vintage champagne at the Hotel de Crillion is a very luxury way to treat yourself. After dinner and till late the right place is Harry's Bar. Just say "Sank Roo Doe Noo" to the taxi driver and you will reach a real piece of the history of Paris. Have some fun with a jazz gig in the lower level and prepare yourself for a real French night.

Last place to conclude the unusual tour of Paris is Pere Lachaise. It's a little bit strange place to visit. Pere Lachaise it's a cemetary. But really unusual. It's made in a very strange way. It's like a garden with a lot of sculptures inside. It's a nice place. But the thrilling thing is that it's populated by the graves of many famous persons like Chopin, Proust, Bellini or Modigliani. More than other two graves must be visited. The one of Oscar Wilde. A big squared block of stone covered by thousand of kisses left by the fans with their colored lipsticks. And to finish the one where Jim Morrison is buried since 1971. Probably the most visited grave in the whole world. A real mystic trip for any rock'n'roll lover.

Paris is unique uncomparable and probably forever unbeatable. A trip to Paris it's always a special adventure anyone should have.

Giovanni Allevi and Stefano Bollani

In my opinion Jimi Hendrix has been one of the greatest musical genius ever. His feeling is absolutely unique. Nobody has ever been steps ahead like him. Nowadays a lot of guitar heros could play hundreds of notes per second. But without sentiment. Pure technical power. So boring! Even when I think about instrumental albums, like a solo piano album, I just pair it with this bad feeling. Boring. Boring. Boring!

As sometimes happens then arrives something that makes me change my mind. Probably something strange. Unique. I don't know. I just know that this time the thing that made me change my mind is related to a couple of Italian artists (piano players). The names are Stefano Bollani and Giovanni Allevi.

The first time I have seen Stefano Bollani was on an MTV's broadcast. He was playing live some solo tunes. Brilliant, no doubt. But then he did an experiment. He has asked to the audience to write on a piece of paper a tune he should play. No limits at all to the requests. 5 or 6 have been chosen randomly: Smoke on the water, like a virgin, Summertime and others. Very hard job for Stefano. But just after a few seconds he has played a great medley of all this songs. Absolutely incredible. Unbelievable. Ok. Quite easy. It was a TV show. For sure everything has been carefully prepared before. Or not?

Just to have some kind of proof I have been at his live show some days after. I was really curious. Incredible. At the end of the show he did the same experiment. The audience was shouting the name of the songs for the encore. He wrote more or less 10 titles. And after a few seconds he started a wonderful medley. I was there and I can witness this extraordinary experience. But what has really impressed me is the wild and creative attitude he has playing the piano. And the audience too has impressed me much. Complete silence during the performance. Explosion of noise, claps and whatever just after the last note of each tune! Amazing.

As a consequence of this nice experience I felt ready for testing another Italian piano player. Giovanni Allevi. He is a very shy guy with a great sensibility. His last album (piano solo!!!), Joy, put a spell on me! Since from the very first listening I had a positive feeling with it. I have found myself listening the whole CD for 3 or 4 times in a row. After that I did feel a little bit strange. Confused. Never in my life I thought possible for me to like so much instrumental music. And without any guitar too! But the truth is that Giovanni Allevi is simply magic. Any of his note could transfer real emotions.

An hazardous comparison could be between Giovanni Allevi and Jimi Hendrix. More than all in a couple of tunes. The first one, Downtown, reminds me the experiment made by Jimi Hendrix to reproduce the noise of the traffic with his own guitar. The second one, Jazzmatic, is a crescendo where rhythm and the dynamic of the player are simply unbelievable. And powerful. As only Jimi's guitar was.

Sometimes is really nice to be wrong and change mind. Thank you Giovanni. Thank you Stefano.

Gigi Cifarelli's talking guitar

Talking about music is not so easy. There are many chances to use stereotypes. Brazilian has the rhythm in their blood! Any Brazilian? Cubans dance like gods! Any Cuban? Could it be possible? Only (Afro)Americans can play the Blues! Yeah, the Blues. But also Jazz music. It's chilling to think about a Norwegian playing Jazz music. But in the cold Scandinavia is possible to find some of the finest modern Jazz players.

And what about Italians? Think about Italy means to think about Pizza & Mandolino? Are we so sure? I'm not! Probably stereotypes, like any legend, have some truth inside. I'm quite sure that it's something related to attitude. Capacity. For sure a Jamaican is much more confident with Reggae music than with winter sports. But if I'm not wrong there was a Jamaican team riding a bobsled at the Winter Olympics! Probably an Italian is more confident with soccer playing (or at least talking) than playing Jazz music. But there are many examples of great Italian Jazzman & Bluesman. Could be crazy. Could sound impossible. I don't know. What I know is the existence of the proof.

And the proof has a name. The name is Cifarelli. Gigi Cifarelli. He is really incredible. In the Milan city area he is one of the most famous and appreciated musicians. But ha has lot of fans all over Italy and Europe. Probably his name is known also in the USA. For sure in USA he has lot of friends. Mike Stern is one of them. Many times they shared the same stage for a gig. Also a real Jazz Master like the (sadly) gone Tony Scott was a fan of Gigi. He has played with many stars. It's enough to take a look at the gallery of his own web site to check it.

Gigi has an incredible feeling with music. He doesn't play the guitar. He makes the guitar talk to the audience. The instrument is the media to drive all the emotions. And Gigi drives many emotions to the audience. He has incredible technical skills. But really seldom he uses it. He prefers to use the heart, to have fun and to provide fun to the others. He is for sure one of the greatest Jazz players in Italy. And not only. He plays the Blues like few others can. But the crazy thing is that music to him is not a job. He whisper to his friends that his real job is to ride the bicycle. For real. He wins many competition every year. Guitar is just an hobby. It's a way to lower everyday stress. It's just fun. Not a job.

On 6th July he has played in Nice with one of the biggest American guitar players: Mr Al Di Meola. Yes, typical American name...just look at the cover photos of Friday Night In San Francisco! Despite of its Pizza & Mandolino attitude Gigi has played great Blues & Jazz. Also Mr Di Meola has been shocked by him. Probably Gigi will receive some proposal for a tour abroad (maybe in the USA) but I'm not sure he will accept. How can he left his bike for such a long time???