Home » Jazz Articles » Live Review » Canzionere Grecanico Salentino: New York, NY February 1, 2013

3

Canzionere Grecanico Salentino: New York, NY February 1, 2013

By

View read count
Canzionere Grecanico Salentino
Michael Schimmel Center For the Arts at Pace University
New York, NY
February 1, 2013

At the opening performance of its debut US tour, the Southern Italian Canzionere Grecanico Salentino sextet presented a cohesive set of traditional and original songs in an almost all-acoustic setting. The sextet opened by coming onstage, one by one. Accordionist Massimiliano Morabito began alone, and was slowly joined by the other members of the group. The ensemble played an up-tempo tune that got the mostly Italian audience singing or clapping along to the ever-increasing tempo.

Led by Mauro Durante (vocals, violin and frame drum), the group continued with songs that sometimes had a Middle Eastern vibe, while others resembled Celtic music- -especially through their use of the bagpipe-like chiaramella and because most relied on but two or three chords. Some tunes had a more contemporary feel, such as "Nu Te Fermare, "an original song from Pizzica Indiavolata (Puglia Sounds, 2012), which featured multi-instrumentalist Giulio Bianco on electric bass—one of the few numbers to include a non-acoustic instrument.

Durante explained that some lyrics were played in Grecanico—a dialect from his region that, according to his words, is disappearing because it is no longer spoken by younger generations. Dancer Silvia Perrone joined the group for the more up-tempo numbers, enhancing the music by interacting with the musicians and audience members, some of whom were already dancing in the open spaces in the theater. Among the highlights were "Bella Ci Dorme," a slow serenade sung by vocalist/percussionist Maria Mazzotta, whose lyrics told the story of a man singing under his loved one's window as she comfortably sleeps, and "Tambbirriedhu Mia," a percussion-rich tune in which audience members sang along during the chorus.

There were a lot of improvised moments during the show—the musicians often looking at each other as to signal that their solos were ending—and halfway through the show, Durante played a frame drum solo that included various rhythms, including rock and samba. At the end of the set, the group returned to the stage and played some tunes, including a reprise of "Tambbirriedhu Mia," without any microphones.

The concert, which lasted roughly two hours, was a welcome introduction to a genre that is rarely heard Stateside. The band managed to keep the audience engaged throughout, switching instruments and beats as it went along.

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About 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 make 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.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves 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.

Near

New York City Concerts

More

Jazz article: Bark Culture At Solar Myth
Jazz article: Hingetown Jazz Festival 2025
Jazz article: Hayley Kavanagh Quartet At Scott's Jazz Club

Popular

Read Take Five with Pianist Irving Flores
Read Jazz em Agosto 2025
Read Bob Schlesinger at Dazzle
Read SFJAZZ Spring Concerts
Read Sunday Best: A Netflix Documentary
Read Vivian Buczek at Ladies' Jazz Festival

Get more of a good thing!

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

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.