Vincenzo Virgilito: precondition

Vincenzo Virgillito is a Sicilian bassist, trained in Italy, living in London. He has been exposed to a wide variety of influences including John Coltrane, Jaco Pastorius, and Pink Floyd. For the record, he trained as an accountant, so if he were required to find the mythical "day job," he would be in good shape. From the sound of this recording, there does not seem to be much prospect of that. He is a busy working musician.

From a strictly technical viewpoint, Virgillito possesses a very round pizzicato sound. The left-hand sustain is quite nice, and he produces some nice overtones. Intonation on a bass is always tricky and subject to factors that may or may not be in a player's control. It does seem to be an issue in this recording, although it is difficult to know whether or not some is an intentional effect of the more experimental pieces. Still, Virgillito has a wide range of pizzicato articulations and a good sense of time. The acoustic tracks are nice, if a bit repetitive.

Virgilito appears on a number of previous recordings, including Post Jazz Mistress (TRP Music, 2010), Portrait en Jazz Méditerranéen(Wide Sound, 2006), with Osvaldo Di Dio and Antonio Fusco, and Nakaira(Map Records, 2000).

So if you are looking for a fresh, different, contemporary approach to the bass in its various forms, Vincenzo Virgillito would seem a good place to turn.

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