Fabrizio Sotti – Inner Dance – E1 E1E-CD-2080, 48:37 ***:
(Fabrizio Sotti – nylon string & electric guitars, producer, co-engineer; Sam Barsh – Hammond B-3 organ; Victor Jones – drums; Gregoire Maret – harmonica (track 3); Mino Cinelli – drums, percussion (track 3, 5 & 7); Claudia Acuna – vocals (track 5))
For his new album, Inner Dance, Italian-born guitarist/composer/producer Fabrizio Sotti puts his day job as a hip-hop and pop producer on the back burner to return to his jazz roots. On his first outing on the E1 label, Sotti evokes straightforward soul-jazz (think Ramsey Lewis or Kenny Burrell), traverses into Latin pop-jazz territory and presents tributes to Thelonious Monk and Michael Brecker.
The genesis for this project came from a digital tragedy. After Sotti had recorded the basic material for his next intended release, his computer hard drive had a full meltdown and he lost all of his original sessions. “The tech company that tried to salvage my data told me that this kind of complete erasure only happens once in every 10,000 times a computer crashes,” he explains. Despite the setback, Sotti carried on in a new direction and the result is nine compositions penned or co-written by Sotti that emphasize the interaction of his electric and nylon string guitars with Sam Barsh’s Hammond B-3 organ and Victor Jones’ drums.
Inner Dance begins with the smoothly swinging “Blue Whisper,” a sparingly arranged tune that exhibits the interplay between Sotti’s electric guitar and Barsh’s gently grooving organ. The trio changes things up on the lively “I Thought So,” which is animated by an ascendant melody and spotlights a spirited Sotti solo and a funky organ/drums duet that sounds both contemporary and classic. Another brisk piece is the caffeineated “Last Chance,” where Barsh’s frothy organ harmonics blend with Sotti’s richly aromatic guitar chords and Jones’ percolating drum fills. The threesome turn meditative during the gospel-ish “Brief Talk,” which was sparked by the time Sotti spent with saxophone legend Michael Brecker before Brecker’s untimely passing in 2007. Another mid-tempo trio track is the cool and collected “Mr. T.M,” inspired by Thelonius Monk. While the cut does not echo Monk’s unorthodox rhythm changes or unique harmonic accomplishments, Sotti’s engaging guitar lines do recall, to a certain degree, Monk’s melodic aesthetic.
Sotti extends his compositional skills by utilizing guests on two songs. The jazzy pop title track features lengthy contributions from harmonica ace Gregoire Maret, who gives the radio-friendly number a slightly bluesy feel while Sotti simulates Pat Metheny’s lyrical style and tasteful tone. Singer Claudia Acuna adds tender Spanish vocals to the lightly Brazilian “Amanecer.” Acuna’s soothing voice is nicely balanced against Sotti’s lush nylon string acoustic guitar which brings to mind Antonio Carlos Jobim due to Sotti’s evocative melodic chord progressions. Sotti’s Spanish side is also on ample display on the leisurely, Latin-tinged “Kindness in Your Eyes,” which has an amiable pop-jazz pace.
On Inner Dance, Sotti does not refashion or rethink jazz. Rather, he creates accessible and cordial contemporary jazz material that generally has a moderate and appealing sound for listeners who enjoy pop flourishes with their jazz or a pop audience looking for some light jazz.
TrackList:
1. Blue Whisper
2. Kindness in Your Eyes
3. Inner Dance
4. I Thought So
5. Amanecer
6. Brief Talk
7. Last Chance
8. Mr. T.M.
9. We Are What We Are
— Doug Simpson
