Music
Press
Italian bassist and multi-instrumentalist Tiziano Zanotti did something different on his latest recording effort: he created an entire CD of music played almost entirely on six-string bass. With the exception of only one or two pieces, where a piano (played by Zanotti) or some drums joined in the mix, all fifteen of the movements (they really aren’t all songs in the traditional sense) feature Tiziano performing unaccompanied.
If you’ve been looking for some inspiration to take your bass playing in new directions, there is plenty to experience on Gestire Lo Spazio. The songs are mostly of a classical or jazz nature, and Zanotti captured outstanding bass tones in the recording process. At times, you can hear his fingers sliding across the strings, and at other times you’d swear he’s playing an upright acoustical bass. On a few tracks, he gets down-right spacey with some very cool processing of the bass tone, too!
This certainly isn’t an album to rock out to – it’s not a fusion piece with slapping and popping, and it’s not a shred piece with blistering runs. Rather, it’s more like a classical acoustic guitar performance that has been translated to the six-string bass, and as such, it serves better as background listening music. But there is certainly no denying his talent and compositional skills. This Italian musician, with obvious orchestral performance experience, is also a noted music educator, both as an instructor and published author. Eccellente! - Musicpalyers-com, Apr 08
Lui è un bassista tra i più quotati
del panorama bolognese e
non solo. Nel suo ultimo lavoro
“Gestire lo spazio”, accetta la
“sfida impossibile” per un musicista:
scrivere ed eseguire 50 minuti
di musica per strumento solo...
senza annoiare. Un particolare,
un album di cui il basso è
l’unico protagonista potrebbe
veramente spaventare l’ascoltatore,
ma Zanotti vince la sfida
alla grande e non solo dall’alto
di una tecnica superiore (che in
qualche modo gli diamo per
scontata), ma soprattutto in forza
di una validità compositiva
che pone il virtuosismo (ben
presente) in secondo piano rispetto
alla capacità di creare
emozioni. Musica assolutamente
lontana da qualsiasi facile etichetta,
che parte dal jazz per approdare
a territori cui non è ancora
stato dato, per fortuna, un
nome.
Lucio Mazzi - City - March 17, 2008
Discography
cd GESTIRE LO SPAZIO (Echoes 2007)
Tracklist
1. The Opener
2. Dettagli
3. Gocce
4. Episodio II
5. Piece Informe
6. Hands
7. Afternoon in solo
8. Dirty
9. Harry
10. Gestire lo spazio I
11. Forma Mentis
12. Gestire lo spazio II
13. Blue
14. Gestire lo spazio III*
15. Gestire lo spazio IV
*Dedicated to Bruno Maderna
All compositions by Tiziano Zanotti except tracks 6, 13 by Tiziano Zanotti/Nicola Ciarmatori. Recorded August 2007 at Full Digital Recording Studio, S.Giovanni in Persiceto (BO).
Photos
Bio
The band is a minimal one: electric bass and electronics. The artist's challenge is to be able to arrange a solo performance with the same energy and expression power like other instruments like a piano or a guitar can more easily do, all the time seeking to hold and excite the listener's attention.
The repertoire is a product of the musician's compositional effort: all the pieces have been designed and developed to be played in a live situation with only a 6-string bass (Zanotti's first instrument) and the support of a few and unobtrusive effects and percussion sounds. At a later stage, these compositions have been structured in a more complex way to be included in the disc "Gestire lo Spazio", faithful mirror of the magic atmospheres this musician can create in a live show.
Perfect technique, jazz and classical influences, very refined timbre, beautiful melodies, are some of the features you can find in this project, which presents a new and very personal way of experiencing and playing the electric bass.
INFO: www.tizianozanotti.com
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