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Peppe Merolla: Stick with Me
by AAJ Italy Staff
Curiosa la storia di Peppe Merolla. Cresciuto in una famiglia di artisti, si è cimentato nel doppio ruolo di attore e musicista, registrando alcuni lavori come cantante - con il nick di Little Joe -, dedicandosi in seguito alla tromba nell'orchestra di Claudio Simonetti, fino a dar sfogo all'amore per la batteria. Passione che si è materializzata nel in questo debutto da leader, intitolato Stick with Me, un album realizzato con musicisti di riferimento di New York, dove oggi risiede, ...
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by Raul d'Gama Rose
Although Stick With Me is a simple, straight ahead album, it is fresh and full of wonderful twists and turns. The very first track says, “expect the unexpected," when “Naples," opens with a splash of cymbals, the rolling thunder of mallets on tympanis and Steve Turre calling plaintively on his trademark shells, and then it's a rollicking Afro-Cuban rhythm recalling the Neapolitan ethos. That is, until the bridge arrives with Turre bleating and grunting on trombone to hook up the ...
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by Edward Blanco
Peppe Merolla may not be a familiar name to most jazz audiences but a sampling of Stick with Me, his stellar debut as a leader, may well serve to change that fact. Born in Italy and hailing from an artistic family of actors and singers, Giuseppe “Peppe" Merolla followed in the family tradition doing a little acting and singing before pursuing his love for the drums and jazz. On this striking first outing, Merolla offers a decidedly hard bop-styled jazz ...
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by Nick Catalano
The international jazz scene has been a major focus in recent editions of this column. This month we turn to Italy. The emergence of Italian jazz has long been felt in the U.S. primarily through the word-of-mouth exchanges that emanate from American musicians who have worked in Italian jazz festivals such as those in Umbria, Pisa and Siena. But there has long been a steady club circuit for visiting American stars, who are able to utilize the growing talent in ...
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by Bruce Lindsay
Stick With Me is percussionist Peppe Merolla's first album as leader with this sextet of excellent New York-based musicians, and his involving and imaginative playing takes them through a set of tunes with a distinct hard bop flavor. Merolla's musical history includes a recording career in his native Italy as teenage singing sensation “Little Joe" but here he focuses on drums and percussion with a consistently swinging and inventive style, providing a powerful yet sensitive foundation for his fellow musicians. ...
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