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Plays New Standards
Guido Santoni
Label: Terashima Records
Released: 2025
Duration: 00:55:41
Views: 270
Tracks
Mi Sono Innamorato Di Te; Poinciana; Edith And The Kingpin; Blu; Estate; Tu Si' 'Na Cosa Grande; Midnight Mood; Seven Days; Bill Evans; Infant Eyes
Personnel
Album Description
Cool and mild, with a subtly bittersweet, shadow-tinged mood, enriched by a refined, seasoned elegance rooted in bebop and blues, this is a poetic piano trio from Italy whose distinctly modern European, delicately romanesque playing shines with fresh clarity.
Domestic Japanese release (SACD Hybrid CD).
GUIDO SANTONI Trio / Plays New Standards
The latest release by Italian pianist Guido Santoni, an individualistic artist who has earned widespread acclaim for his previous works, performed by his rock-solid regular trio. Recording, mixing, and mastering were handled by Stefano Amerio.
★ Marked by a remarkably solid, stone-like piano touch that is delicate and disciplined yet crisp, angular, and full-bodied, Santoni’s playing unfolds across a broad expressive spectrum: introspective ballads that drift gently through cool, bittersweet, and subtly shadowed inner landscapes; mild, relaxed bossa-flavored pieces grounded in the language of bright, lyrical bop; and lightly buoyant, blues-inflected passages that merge R&B-inspired rhythmic groove with a European poetic, romanesque sensibility. Throughout, Santoni spins fluid, agile, and lyrical melodic lines that never relinquish restraint or elegance, producing a vivid freshness akin to morning dew catching the light. The bass and drums, precise and steadily propulsive yet alive with instinctive flexibility and immediacy, engage with sensitive responsiveness, resulting in a fit that feels fresh, thrilling, and deeply grooving. Overall, the album presents a succession of imaginative and exquisite performances that balance the aesthetic refinement distinctive to contemporary European jazz with the mainstream jazz lineage rooted in the United States, yielding a surprisingly dense and rewarding program that remains consistently light, clear, and pleasurable to hear.
★ In keeping with today’s European piano-trio ethos, which places the highest priority on melodic and harmonic beauty alongside a strong sense of swing, the music is thoroughly poetic while never losing sight of the fundamental “bop and blues” tradition, which feels fully internalized throughout. This refined lyrical approach unfolds with great clarity, revealing moments of understated, seasoned sophistication within its suppleness. Along a comfortable and accessible journey that is both artistic and entertaining, Santoni’s piano improvisations emerge with vivid brilliance, rich in poetic romance without tipping into sweetness, yet never sharpening into the severe intensity associated with figures such as Pieranunzi. The result is a masterful equilibrium, in which the elegance of his phrasing and narrative instinct shines with striking clarity.
→ Gentle, tender, and coolly restrained, the music consistently maintains a sense of ease and quiet nobility, shaping a graceful, polished, and vividly refined flow. Within its sweet yet shadowed bittersweetness and refreshing clarity, a precise and coherent storyteller’s instinct for structure and dramaturgy naturally reveals itself. As a result, a kind of literary sound world emerges, one that never sacrifices its entertainment value while quietly attaining a depth that feels both elusive and exceptional.
Tracklist
01. Mi Sono Innamorato Di Te (Luigi Tenco)
02. Poinciana (Buddy Bernier – Nat Simon)
03. Edith And The Kingpin (Joni Mitchell)
04. Blu (Ryuichi Sakamoto)
05. Estate (Bruno Martino)
06. Tu Si' ‘Na Cosa Grande (Domenico Modugno)
07. Midnight Mood (Joe Zawinul)
08. Seven Days (Pat Metheny)
09. Bill Evans (Lyle Mays)
10. Infant Eyes (Wayne Shorter)
Album uploaded by Guido Santoni
