I Compani: Party @ Tivolux

From Fellini to Verde to Garbo, with detours into the world of food and sounds of the subway, I Compani is one of Europe's most original and versatile ensembles. Despite a decades-long legacy in Western Europe, the ensemble is not well known in the U.S. The Dutch group, under the direction of saxophonist/composer and founder, Bo van de Graaf are masters of ingenious arrangement and vivid expressiveness that all but jumps out from the speakers. On Party @ Tivolux, van de Graff presents two lineups in live performances that are among I Compani's best work. The leader is the only musician appearing in both groups. Though the 2023 and 2024 performances are live, each piece seamlessly segues into the next with no audience distraction.

Rarely does a van de Graaf composition fit a convenient description. "Sogni 'd Oro" opens Part 1 as blues, then veers into a cinematic motif, eventually landing in a Middle Eastern bazaar. The vaudevillian introduction to "Il Bidone" takes on a circus theme, and "Tango delle Capinere" retains the spirit of Italian composer Cesare Bixio while flirting with a silent movie house ambiance. The ensemble in Part 2 of Party @ Tivolux begins with the four-part "GouGou Suite." An assortment of composers have their hands in this whirlwind, six-minute piece, including Cole Porter, 19th-century opera composer Amilcare Ponchielli, and "Anonymous." Van de Graaf keeps the jigsaw puzzle organized and entertaining.

A self-taught musician, and a frequent solo performer, van de Graaf is comfortable following his instincts rather than being confined by rules. The common denominator across almost forty years of I Compani is the non-stop generation of new and creative ideas. The group features a revolving stable of musicians that are mixed and matched to specific projects. Half of the fifteen compositions on Party @ Tivolux are original van de Graaf pieces. I Compani's work has a unique sound, a spontaneous composite of theatrical elements, jazz, cabaret, and classical, yet the finished product does not suggest a specific musical landscape. I Compani balances gravity and irony, inventiveness and rhythmic energy. Party @ Tivolux is a seventy-minute epic rooted in concert halls and sawdust.