Music
Press
'Saxophonist Enzo Favata comes from Sardinia; those who are interested in the vicissitudes of Italian jazz, know that Sardinia has always been on the vanguard as regards the quest for a linkeage between Sardinian musical tradition and Afro-American-like improvisation. Favata's CD is a good example of the results attained. A way to protect the fundamental values of this extraordinary culture and perhaps to render them universal values' - Claudio Sessa– 25th August 2007
'The new village travels comfortably to all the corners of the world: the improvisation of free jazz gives way slowly to the poweful voices of the Tenores, creating an extremely original atmosphere. New pathways are followed, between sudden bursts of music and whispered songs'. - Francesca Ortalli 5th June 2007
'Sardinian jazz musicians are often linked to the extraordinary cultural heritage of the island, but Favata more than others, draws inspiration from the Sardinian tradition? It's like a dive into one of the most typical Sardinian traditions with 'gems' belonging to an ancient repertoire, revisited by Favata with great sensitivity. Between pride and nostalgia'.
- Gian Mario Maletto November 2007
'With the latest CD, the saxophonist of Alghero intends to pay tribute to his musical roots of the 70s, a combination of free jazz and electric jazz on the one hand and ethnic music, in particular Sardinian ethnic music on the other hand'. - Marcello Lorrai November/December 2007
'Enzo Favata comes from Alghero, plays the saxophone and many other instruments; he's one of the most important jazz musicians on the Sardinian scene. The New Village mixes free jazz with the archaic poliphonic music of the area of Barbagia of the Tenores'. - 6th October 2007
'Favata's ethnic jazz acquires a new nuance. The Sardinian saxophonist intends to draw inspiration from the music of the 70s. One can listen to the revisited hard bop with poignant folklore cues rather than to revisited free jazz'.
- Piercarlo Poggio – October 2007
'There's some good music in this CD, there's balance and personality. In short, many new ideas, because mixing 'The Thing' with Sardinian polyphonic music, the sounds of the electric guitar and of the saxophone, revealing a flair for melody, may either lead to a mismatched sound or to a great CD, which is the latter case here'. - Antonello Oliva September 2007
'Building a bridge between the archaic and traditional music of the Tenores De Bitti and the free jazz of the 70s may not have been an easy task, not even for so excellent a musician like Favata. The instrumental part prevails with its changes in the rhythms and digressions, and takes us up to the sky, then the coral music takes us back down to the earth and to the material character of our life experiences'. - Edoardo Frassetto July 2007
'Favata has been following the same pathway for years, a pathway combining tradition, innovation, experimentation of different musical cultures and languages. A varied music mixing fading sounds, ethnicity and structured improvisation, free jazz cues and samplers, which produces a strong, intense and original sound'.
- Marco Delle Fave – September 2007
'In his latest project, dedicated to the great Sardinian musicians Marcello Melis and to Lester Bowie, Favata is accompanied by the Tenores De Bitti and by a jazz sextet. It's not exactly a meeting but a real blending of different melodic sounds and intentions, as underlined by the choice of entitling the project Enzo Favata Tentet'.
- September 2007
Discography
Enzo Favata Discography
1987 Tangos de La Tardor D.D Band LMJ
1991Storie Musiche e Canzoni Compilation artisti internazionali Virgin
1992 Sonora 3 Compilation artisti internazionali Materiali Sonori
1992 Jana Enzo Favata Jana Project il ponte sonoro
1995 Islà Enzo Favata Jana Project Robi Droli
1996 Il cielo è sempre più blu Colonna sonora del Film San Isidro
1997 Ajò Enzo Favata Jana Project con Dino Saluzzi Robi Droli
1997 Anime Mediterranee Compilation artisti internazionali Olis
1998 Voyage en Sardigne Enzo Favata ed artisti del folclore sardo Il Manifesto
1999 Atlantico Enzo Favata Quintetto Atlantico il Manifesto
1999 World Festival of Sacred Music Compilation Internazionale CCn’c Records (Germania)
2001 Boghes and Voices sacred musica della sardegna e jazz Synphonia ( Armonia Mundi Germania )
2003 Made in Sardinia Enzo Favata Quintetto e Tenores di Bitti CCn’c Records / Il Manifesto
2004 Nu Tango Compilation internazionale Union Square Music ( Inghilterra)
2004 Crossing double album di inediti live di 15 years Blu Studio ( IRD)
2005 No mans land Enzo Favata Sixelectrix Splash
2007 The new village Enzo Favata tentet il manifesto
2008 The night of the storytellers Enzo Favata
12 lune records
Photos
Bio
ENZO FAVATA biography
Enzo Favata is one of the most active and best known Sardinian musicians on the Italian and international music scene, having played more than 2,000 concerts the world over.
His research weds tradition and modernity and ranges between different musical cultures.
He has studied classical and jazz saxophone, plays the soprano, sopranino and tenor sax, and the bass clarinet, as well as other ethnic wind instruments, above all from Sardinia – he is also a capable user of electronics, that he utilises together with acoustic instruments.
His career started in 1983: after having played traditional jazz for some years, he concentrated on the study of the folk music of Sardinia, of which he is well-versed. Based on these models, together with other ethnic influences, such as those from Latin America, he has developed an idiom and composition style that are totally original.
He has composed soundtracks for the cinema, the radio, TV and the theatre.
He has designed and realised sound environments for museums and exhibitions.
He has played and recorded with Dino Saluzzi, Enrico Rava, the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Django Bates, Miroslav Vitous, Dave Liebman, Lester Bowie, Flavio Boltro, Michel Marre, Tenores di Bitti, and many others.
He studied classical saxophone at the Conservatorio di Sassari (High school for music studies) and jazz music at the Siena school with Gian Luigi Trovesi, Fasoli and Rava. He taught himself ethnomusicology and the traditional music of Sardinia in20 years of work is a great traditional singher, player of traditional instruments, and now as well as traditional and electronic composition.
His first album was released in 1987 containing also his own musical compositions under the name of the group “D.D. Band”, an eight-piece band which won third place at the Festival of emerging Italian jazz, Forlì.
• In 1987, a special mention was earned in the competition “Ai confini tra Sardegna e jazz” for the Sant’Anna Arresi Festival with the D. D. Band.
• In 1988 he won first prize in the competition “Ai confini tra Sardegna e jazz” for the Sant’Anna Arresi Festival with his first quartet of experimentation between improvisation and Sardinian music.
• In 1990 he met Marcus Stockhausen who introduced him to fusion between contemporary and Indian music.
• From 1990 to 1992 he played a great deal with a group composed of Rashmi V. Bhatt, Indian tabla , Marcello Peghin, guitar, Giovanni Maccioccu, cello – with Favata, himself playing soprano and electronic saxophone.
• In 1992 the first album under his own name was released, “Jana”, that documents this visionary landscape of musical blending between Sardinia and other cultures; with the same line-up he was invited to the European Jazz show in Barcelona.
• At the same time he developed another project on the side, together with the guitarist Marcello Peghin and the percussionist Roberto Pellegrini: “TANGRAM TRIO”, an experimental group in the field of contemporary jazz and avant-garde music halfway between minimalism, noise music and the contemporary New York underground sound. Favata played with this group at the Tokyo Jazz Festival in 1992 and at that of Berlin in 1993.
• In 1995, the Tangram Trio won a European competition for best improvisation group at Poitiers.
His concert-playing experience was flanked by production of sound tracks, working for RAI, radio and television, dance and the theatre.
1993 he started researching into Sardinian music, meeting with numerous traditional musicians from practically all the villages in the island.
At the start of 1993 he debuted as author for cinema soundtracks, composing the music for a German film set in Sardinia “Con amore … Fabia” by the Italian director Maria Teresa Camoglio, produced by Shram films, Berlin; this experience was repeated in 1995 with the film directed by Antonello Grimaldi “Il cielo è sempre più blu” presented in 1997 at 10 international film festivals throughout the world, amongst which the Berlin Film Festival. This soundtrack was released on CD by the San Isidro label.
1995 collaboration started with the label Robi Droli, with which “Islà” was produced, an album recorded together with the guitarist Marcello Peghin, the tabla player Federico Sanesi and Riccardo Tesi on the diatonic accordion. The disc met with optimum praise from the critics and in this phase Favata abandoned electronics to concentrate on the pure sound of acoustic instruments.
1994 friendship with Piergavino Sedda led to the first encounter with the music and musicians of the Gavoi tradition – an artistic love at first sight that led to a solid bond between Favata and the Gavoi Tumbarinos, who were present in many later musical productions.
1997 was the year of an important collaboration with the virtuoso of the Argentine bandoneon, Dino Saluzzi. This is immortalised on the CD “Ajò”, recorded with an acoustic quintet, the music of which deals with memories of emigration
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