Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Fabrizio Sotti: Inner Dance

352

Fabrizio Sotti: Inner Dance

By

Sign in to view read count
Fabrizio Sotti: Inner Dance
Guitarist and composer Fabrizio Sotti dedicates his album Inner Dance to two jazz greats, guitarist Wes Montgomery and organist Jimmy Smith. He presents a wide range of compositions, mostly in a low-key, mellow mood. He plays both acoustic and amplified guitars, and his main collaborator here is Sam Barsh on Hammond B-3 organ; their interplay is impeccable.

With this record, the Italian-born Sotti comes back to jazz after an excursion the last few years into hip-hop, rock, and pop. During his hiatus, he was featured with big names such as Dead Prez, Q-Tip, Tupac Shakur, Jennifer Lopez, and Whitney Houston. His major success in this area was in 2006 when he produced Confidential for the artist M1, released on self-named Sotti Records. To be sure, though, his jazz credentials are in order. Since coming to the U.S. in the nineties, he has performed with the likes of Roy Hargrove, George Coleman, and Jeff Tain Watts.

On this release, Sotti shows great talent and technique on both amplified and acoustic guitars. He is particularly effective on the latter instrument, as revealed in the fetching ballad "Kindness In Your Eyes" and in the beautiful title track; his solos are displayed to maximum effect by Barsh's lush organ. As guest vocalist Claudia Acuna sings a sweetly soulful rendition of "Amancer," Sotti's sensitive string work is once again prominent.

While the selections throughout are creatively pleasing and eminently listenable, there is a sense of the music being too similar from one track to another. It would be good, for example, if his arrangements unleashed more power and "pulled out all the stops" occasionally on the basis of Barsh's organ. In "Last Chance," however, following Sotti's flurry of notes, Barsh does come on strong, pushed by Mino Cinelu's drums.

Murphy's Law almost doomed this recording. Sotti began this project in February 2009. After recording the basic trio tracks and Acuna's vocal, his hard drive crashed, and he lost it all. "The tech company that tried to salvage my data," he explained, "told me that this kind of complete erasure only happens once in every 10,000 times a computer crashes." He was frustrated but quickly decided to press on and re-record, despite the difficulty of scheduling new sessions with busy musicians.

Track Listing

Blue Whisper; Kindness In Your Eyes; Inner Dance; I Thought So; Amancer; Brief Talk; Last Chance; Mr. T.M.; We Are What We Are.

Personnel

Fabrizio Sotti: electric guitar (1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 ) acoustic guitar (2, 5, 9); Sam Barsh: organ (1-8); Victor Jones: drums (1, 2, 4, 6, 8); Mino Cinelu: percussion/drums (3, 5, 7); Claudia Acuna: vocal (5); Gregoire Maret: harmonica (3).

Album information

Title: Inner Dance | Year Released: 2010 | Record Label: E1 Music

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris
Candid
Sunny Five
Inside Colours Live
Julie Sassoon

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.