Recommended: Giancarlo Tossani Synapser – “Newswok”

 

Giancarlo Tossani - "Newswok"A curious release from Giancarlo Tossani Synapser.  Everything about Newswok sounds freely improvised, except that patterns are revealed that imply something meticulously planned.  Tempos are like stop motion animation, a perpetual stream of strange poses resulting in an engaging fluidity.  But it’s not all just a flurry of activity and an hyperactive persona…

“Click to Play” slips in moody passages of an alluring dissonance between the bouts of quick-footed exuberance that defines the album.  Intriguingly, it has an outro that is about as melodically adroit as anything on the recording.

“White” takes a momentary introspective turn via piano, and though the song’s motion is more deliberate than its counterparts, it still moves with a boozy unpredictability that keeps it well in line with all that has come before.  It crests with a shriek and a crash, and it’s bass and drums that spur it on to those heights and is there to catch the song when it falls back down to earth.

“Sleepery” is freer than most other tracks, yet is so dense as to counteract its high energy with a lumbering presence.

The brief “Silence” is the fluttering wings of percussion and the tandem of clarinet and trumpet dishing out melodic fragments.

“Minimal Overload” slips between passages in a free fall and those out from of a lullaby.  Bass clarinet works the angles at both extremes.  Fittingly, it’s how Tossani brings the album to a close.

Challenging music?  Yes, certainly.  But it’s got a fighting spirit that is both entertaining and fun, and those qualities tend to make challenging music an easier listen.

Your album personnel:  Giancarlo Tossani (piano), Ralph Alessi (trumpet), Achille Succi (alto sax, clarinet, bass clarinet), Tito Mangialajo Rantzer (double bass), and Cristiano Calcagnile (drums, percussion, drumtableguitar).

Released on Auand Records.

Jazz from the Cremona, Italy scene.

Available at:  eMusic | Amazon MP3