Pat Battstone and Giorgia Santoro: Dream Notes

Dream Notes is a collaborative effort by American pianist Patrick Battstone and Italian flautist Giorgia Santoro, along with Italian painter Daniela Chionna. Battstone connected to her paintings and had a strong affinity for her improvisational style. Previously her "Immersion" series of paintings was absorbed in his previous recording Elements. When she created the series, "Dream Notes," they were quite different from her previous works, having a Japanese tone, with a starkness which was set to a winter theme. Battstone set his travel plans to record in winter, to establish what would end up being a collaborative effort between two keenly connected and like-minded musicians and one poetically intuitive painter in one completely improvisational effort.

"The Forest Within 1" opens with Santoro singing and playing the flute at the same time. The polyphonic colors are ear-jarring and transfixing, bringing an instant focus. Battstone joins with tricks on the piano body, strumming the strings, and other percussive effects on the piano. Santoro moves only the flute, creating percussive effects and sounds. Both players contribute breathes and grunts. The sounds that Battstone finds on the piano are stunning. The improvisation builds to a Japanese-inspired section. Both performers are completely listening and interacting, waiting for the music to lead them to the next event. The chaos of beauty in the music is magical.

"The Mist of Morning Waters" follows Battstone and Santoro coaxing sounds from their instruments in a musical, yet highly creative and unorthodox manner. The sounds in the opening statement by Battstone are powerful. The conversation section between the two integrating piano arpeggios and flute commentary is playful; both masterfully maintain the same color and hues. The energy is never lost as the two flow with each other in music conversation which is stimulating and offers elements of 20th-century classical music.

Battstone continues to prolifically release creatively-based improvisational works with various Italian musicians. Of the seven previously-released CDs with Italian musicians and vocalists since 2016, Dream Notes, is the most fertile in creativity. Its opulence is clearly influenced by its muse, painter Chionna. A definitive collaboration.