Home » Jazz Articles » Biagio Coppa: Slam Dunk Project

38

Album Review

Biagio Coppa: Slam Dunk Project

By

Sign in to view read count
Biagio Coppa: Slam Dunk Project
Playing the guessing game while listening to Slam Dunk Project by Biagio Coppa's trio will lead you to America and the New World. Which, of course, is the Old World when we are talking about jazz. Zooming in a bit closer, and we hit the East Coast before stopping in the Midwest. Coppa's compositions and the trio's performance fit nicely in in the rigorous and investigative worlds of 21st century Chicago and New York jazz. Chi-town is a great guess for the band's location, but the correct answer is Italy. More proof that jazz is a one-world art form.

Coppa, an accomplished saxophonist and composer, has released several recordings with the American performers Ralph Alessi, Tyshawn Sorey, Matt Mitchell, John Patitucci and Nate Wooley. Here he widens his vistas by focusing his approach with a basic improvising trio. Basic in structure only, Coppa shares equally not only with the soloing, but also recording levels. Both bassist Marco Rottoli and drummer Matteo Rebulla could easily be mistaken for the session leader here. The music is orchestrated to be that fluid.

The opener, "Modal Model," is built upon a framework reminiscent of Steve Coleman's M-BASE music (as are many other pieces), with mathematical movement and exponential growth. Coppa loves to pass the lead around favoring Rottola's bowed bass ("Conica") and Rebulla's drumming ("Holy Crap") to frame the trio's image. Elsewhere, "Prank" bounces some Morse Code-like soprano notes off a pacific bass line before disassembling notes and charting a path with a structured and well disciplined improvisation (not an oxymoron). All this derives from group communication and interplay. Coppa is a disciple of the both Steve Coleman, Steve Lacy, and Jimmy Giuffre. This democratic upgrade to the traditional trio format should be welcome and applauded in the clubs across the globe.

Track Listing

Modal Model; Conica; Tatty Piece; Slam Dunk; The Brat; ABC; Holy Crap; Prank.

Personnel

Biagio Coppa: saxophone, soprano; Matteo Rebulla: drums; Marco Rottoli: bass, acoustic.

Album information

Title: Slam Dunk Project | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: No Flight Records

Post a comment about this album


FOR THE LOVE OF 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 create 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.

WE NEED YOUR HELP
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve 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.

Tags

More

Conversation Starter
Willie Morris
Melodies of Light
Omri Mor / Yosef-Gutman Levitt
The Quietly Clouds And A Wild Crane
Yuji Takahashi / Sabu Toyozumi

Popular

On the record

Vibes on a Breath
Ted Piltzecker
Eclectic
Jonathan Karrant
Brazilian Match
Luiz Millan
Double Portrait
Giuseppe Millaci and the Vogue Trio

Get more of a good thing!

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