“He is one of the leading musicians on the Northern European scene. True master of the bandoneon, welcomed and exalted in the exclusive circles of Paris and Buenos Aires, Paolo Russo is originally from Pescara but for over 23 years he has lived in Copenhagen, a city that initially “adopted” and then artistically inspired him: he established himself in the Danish and Scandinavian jazz scene, both for his expressive and disruptive style on the piano, and for the uniqueness of his approach to the bandoneon, an instrument with which he was invited to the most prestigious locations around the world, including Carnegie Hall and the Symphony Space in New York, the Berliner Konzerthaus, the Musikverein in Vienna.
“Vibrant Mediterranean sounds, ethereal Nordic landscapes, dreamy cinematic reminiscences that suddenly turn to jazz, permeated by a distant echo of Argentine tango”: this is how his music is described.
In his career, Paolo Russo has collaborated with great artists of the Italian and international scene, including Lelo Nika, Stefano Bollani, Paolo Fresu, Caroline Henderson, Howe Gelb, Marilyn Mazur, Nico Gori, Gianluigi Trovesi, Pablo Ziegler, Bo Stief, Etta Cameron, Line Kruse, Thomas Clausen, Robertinho Silva, Diego Figueiredo, Poul Krebs, Jesper Bodilsen, Emanuele Cisi, Eliel Lazo, Diego Schissi, Calixto Oviedo, Karima Nayt.
Among his various projects with Italian musicians is the Russo-Bollani-Fresu trio with which he performed in Denmark, Sweden and Norway.
For the bandoneon he has written several arrangements for duo, ensemble and orchestra, formations with which he regularly performs live. His recent album “Bandoneon Solo Vol.II – Originals” is an anthology of original compositions for the instrument, published both as a physical disc and as a manual-book, and has been called a masterpiece by the great Argentine Maestro Néstor Marconi (who also wrote the introductory notes), while his recent work “Imaginary Soundtrack”, recorded in the studio in Italy last January, inspired by the magic of Italian cinematographic music, is a courageous attempt to present a soundtrack without a film, inviting the audience to create, by listening, their own images, characters, sets and dialogues.
In the coming months his first Concerto for Bandoneon and Chamber Orchestra will be presented in Europe and in South America.
He has 15 albums in his name (and has participated in over 50 recordings); the new one is titled “Overland”, which he co-produced with the US label Odradek Records. Ten original pieces form the compelling and charismatic narrative, sometimes dreamy and melancholy, for which Paolo Russo wanted as traveling companions the Swedish double-bass player Thommy Andresson – with whom he has collaborated for various record productions – and the drummer Marcello Di Leonardo, colleague and longtime friend with whom he has already shared many moments of his musical journey.
The timbral alternation between his piano – his first instrument – and the bandoneon and his colorful sound interaction with the rhythm section, enriched at times by the presence of the soprano sax of Fabrizio Mandolini and the colours of the percussion by Bruno Marcozzi (guests in the album), reveal a surprising variety in the texture of the musical tale, typical of the aesthetics of Paolo Russo. The ten tracks Nobil son and fatal, Ruinen, Filastrocca, Kinsarvik, O Golfinho Azul, Riviera, Rita, Carioca dream, The chant, Overland – are ten stories that dance between Nordic atmospheres, burgeoning Mediterranean flavours, and syncopated South American accents.