Jazz Articles about Stefano di Battista

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Stefano Di Battista: La Vita è Bella

by Scott Lichtman
April 4, 2024

"La vita è bella" ("life is beautiful" in Italian) is one tune whose title truly captures its essence. Alto saxophonist Stefano Di Battista leads his quintet through this peppy, hummable bebop piece, a remake of the movie theme of the same name. As the drummer's brushwork flies by at 160bpm, Di Battista and trumpeter Matteo Cutello unleash blazing solos that “Charlie and Dizzie" would be proud of. If you're looking for 3 minutes of straight-ahead jazz sunshine, this may make ...

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Cremona Jazz Festival 2021

by Danilo Codazzi
July 6, 2021

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Stefano Di Battista: Trouble Shootin'

by AAJ Italy Staff
January 17, 2008

Introduzione catturata durante un discorso fra amici: “Cosa stai ascoltando?” “Un disco Blue Note!” “Eh bè, si sente, in che periodo siamo?, metà anni sessanta?” “Ma, veramente è un disco del 2007...” “Wow!” Sì, son passati ormai dieci anni dal suo primo album inciso per la Blue Note, infatti A prima vista è datato 1998. Ma è con con questo nuovo disco che la musica di Stefano Di Battista entra si immerge nel sound che ha caratterizzato la storica etichetta ...

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Stefano di Battista: Parker's Mood

by Jim Santella
July 5, 2005

Recreating a bit of jazz history, Stefano di Battista displays the kind of blazing-fast technical wizardry that brought Charlie Parker to our attention when bebop was just a youngster. Alternately, he adds tender ballads with his heart on his shirtsleeve to demonstrate that side of Bird which appealed to the lover within each of us. His retrospective performance honors the memory well and pays homage to both Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Trumpeter Flavio Boltro appears on four tracks. ...

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Stefano di Battista: Parker's Mood

by John Kelman
February 11, 2005

Is it possible to be too reverent to one's roots? Over the course of three prior releases for Blue Note, Italian saxophonist Stefano di Battista has honoured a number of players who have informed his music, including Art Pepper, Cannonball Adderley, and Johnny Hodges. But whereas previous discs have delivered homage in the context of largely original compositions, di Battista has chosen for his fourth outing '(only the second to be released in North America) to deliver a direct and ...

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Stefano di Battista: Parker's Mood

by AAJ Staff
February 7, 2005

Coming on the heels of another prominent Bird dedication, Anothony Braxton's recently reissued Charlie Parker Project, Parker's Mood is not only a change of pace but a totally distinct look at the music of one of bebop's founding fathers. Whereas Braxton's sprawling work was loose, cantankerous, and abstractly modern, Italian saxophonist Stefano di Battista's collection is strikingly cohesive, focused, and unfailingly true to the tradition. Both aim to revisit compositions written by or associated with Parker, but the outcomes could ...

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Stefano di Battista: Parker's Mood

by Stephen Latessa
February 6, 2005

It is hard to settle down and write a well-measured review of any album that opens with “Salt Peanuts." The tune is so full of natural zest that it would even sound glorious played by an orchestra of kazoos. Predictably, the version that kicks off Parker's Mood does not disappoint and energizes the listener for the rest of the album.

Parker's Mood is saxophonist Stefano di Battista's tribute to Charlie Parker and, as such, features ten tracks either ...