Berardi Jazz Connection

BERARDI JAZZ CONNECTION

BJC was birthed by Francesco Lomagistro’s (drummer/percussionist) idea to put together all the experiences that come from his passion for African American music, the ‘groove’, and the synergy between rhythm and melody. Ettore Carucci (piano) is the co-leader and indispensable partner as well as the helm in this voyage called ‘The Way I Like’, BJC’s first album. The voyage started many years ago in the center of Taranto on a street called Via Berardi where, there, the two met in an apartment using it as a rehearsal studio.
After many different experiences as ‘sidemen’ in pop, jazz, classical and other types of music, Francesco and Ettore decided to ‘give life’ to this project; three other musicians belong to the band and are Vincenzo Presta sax, Andrea Sabatino trumpet and Camillo Pace double bass.
With their 3 albums, The Way I Like, Do It and Anyway, they win all the world, Japan ahead, as nu European jazz band…
Walking in the Village, one composition of the new album has been included in the Top Jazz Tunes of 2010 in japan (Tokyo Jazz Notes)

After “Do It” and three years of waiting, “Anyway”, the third album of the Lomagistro- Carucci group, AKA Berardi Jazz Connection, has appeared. The eleven original tracks highlight the polyglot sound and the search for groove in all its forms. The quintet sound is prevalent, rounded off these days by the presence of Vincenzo Presta on sax, Andrea Sabatino on trumpet and Camillo Pace on upright bass.
The references and inspirations heard in this latest work of the BJC are the result of all that formed and influenced both Francesco and Ettore over the years, starting from the typical quintet sound of Hard Bop of the 60s, moving on to the electric jazz-funk of the 70s, up to music of today.
In the CD we find four vocal tracks sung by various guest singers such as the well known Kelly Joyce on Love Recipe; Orlando Johnson, testimonial to late 70s disco-funk. who loans his warm timbre to the track Taste the Funk, a smooth-funk tune bearing the nostalgic soul of the BJC towards that musical genre. A leap towards South America, this time with Mrs. Miranda sung on this occasion by the splendid voice from Brasil, Ana Paula Lopes; and the only Italian vocalist heard on this CD, the talented Joe Pisto, already leader of the group Jazzango, who bestows on this CD his composition Just Let Me Be.
Odd modern rhythms and themes alternate with retro trends in the tracks Ironic Song, Indecision, Walking In The Village, Zioma, The Right Time, and the only ballad, Never Let Me Go, bringing us to the only fast track, Running Away, enhanced by another guest artist, Max Ionata on sax. And speaking of special guests, we have three more: the very Italian New Yorker-by-adoption, Fabio Morgera, on trumpet; fine percussionist Cesare Pastanella of Puglia, loaning his indispensable support; and for the first time recording with the BJC, the electric bass played by BJC’s old session-mate, now a known quantity in music, Antonio Petruzzelli.
Dusty groove
Great grooves from the Berardi Jazz Connection – one of those groups we've watched grow over the past few years, and who impress us more and more with each new album! This time around, they're even more jazz-based than before – still with rhythms aimed at a club jazz crowd, but mostly played live, with a spontaneous sort of energy that rivals the best of the Ricky Tick scene, and maybe a bit of the Schema world too! There seem to be more great keyboards that ever before – nice and warm, but never slick or smooth – and some cuts have vocals – although most of the grooves are still in an instrumental jazz mode, and one that really sums up the sound of Italy's scene in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Titles include "The Right Time", "Walking In The Village", "Running Away", "Indecision", and "Just Let Me Be".