“The “nuevo tango” by Paolo Russo, virtuoso of the bandoneón, pianist, composer, originally from Pescara, but resident in Copenhagen for over twenty years, is enriched with swinging and dynamic jazz cadences, which blend airily with refined South American atmospheres and an acquired Nordic sensibility, decidedly sunnier than usual.
Russo is a complete musician who graduated in piano at the Conservatory of Pescara, then perfected it (among many other things) in New York with the American jazzman Richie Beirach (collaborator of Stan Getz, Chet Baker, Dave Liebman), and in Buenos Aires with the maestro Argentine bandoneonist Néstor Marconi.
With fifteen albums already to his name, Paolo Russo boasts a series of illustrious collaborations, including prestigious examples with some great jazz artists, such as Stefano Bollani, Paolo Fresu and Gian Luigi Trovesi.
The bandoneón is an instrument with an unmistakable sound, slightly “sighing”, melancholy, and yet not without its darting exotic vitality, which shelters it (in our opinion) from the risk of being boring, as an accordion can sometimes be; and it is also a “diabolical” instrument, very complicated to play (especially for those who venture, as Paolo Russo masterfully does, into articulated and courageous evolutions), at least in its diatonic version: every button (very broadly) is able to produce two tones or sounds, depending on whether or not the bellows are compressed, and is arranged on the keyboard in a non-scalar manner, so as not to grant intuitive reference points.
Russo is a profound connoisseur and passionate divulger: for the famous instrument that was definitively brought to the world by Astor Piazzolla’s compositional inspiration, he has been able to write, with insight and sensitivity, several works and arrangements for duo, ensemble and orchestra.
In the coming months his first Concerto for Bandoneon and Chamber Orchestra will be presented in Europe and in South America, while the instrumental eleven movements of the octet Tangology have recently been published, and the third volume is dedicated to the exploration of the diatonic bandoneón, Bandoneon Solo Vol. III – Songs From The Forest, whose material, entirely made up of original pieces and free improvisations, has found inspiration in the tranquil peace of the Danish forest landscapes.
The vibrant Overland, which Russo has co-produced with the US label Odradek Records, features a dozen pleasant and engaging original songs: the music flows with extreme naturalness, without ever being watered down into inconsistent easy listening.
Accompanying Paolo Russo are the valiant members of his trio, namely the excellent Swedish double-bass player Thommy Andersson, who revives the noble tradition of Nordic double-bass with taste and talent (just listen to the bow in the initial Nobil son and fatal), and the trusted and precise Pescaran (but now Roman by adoption) drummer Marcello Di Leonardo; then there is the addition (here and there) of the agile and suggestive incursions of the Abruzzese Fabrizio Mandolini on soprano sax, and elegant and colourful percussion by Bruno Marcozzi. An invigorating listen.”