Andrea Grossi Blend 3 + Beatrice Arrigoni: Songs And Poems

Sometimes a great athlete's performance is described as "poetry in motion." If we apply that phrase to this Andrea Grossi Blend 3 release, we might say it is poetry in emotion. The bassist composed a musical score to accompany three poems by Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), another four from E.E. Cummings (1894-1962), and one by himself. The remaining three tracks are wordless poetry.

Grossi's Blend 3 includes alto saxophonist Manuel Caliumi and electric guitarist Michele Bonifati. The trio has previously released Lцbok (We Insist! Records, 2019). Here they recruit vocalist Beatrice Arrigoni to recite and sing the words of the poets, plus Gledis Gjuzi to add toy piano on two tracks.

Obviously the poems were written before the music, but it is possible to think of Grossi's music as poetry itself. "Low At My Problem Bending" opens with a solo bass which enunciates metrical notes. It is not until Arrigoni sings the words of Dickinson in tandem with Caliumi's saxophone that we fall back into vocal elocution. Arrigoni's words throughout are commensurate with the other instruments in this recording. Like Dickinson's words which were written on found scraps of paper, "Had We Known The Ton She Bore" is faithful to the mayhem, with offcuts and fragments with heavy guitar and swirling saxophone blizzards. That whiteout is also heard with the Cummings poem "Silence," a nod to the sounds of blossoming noise, before Arrigoni enters with the shriek "Silence," followed by the gentlest recitation. Grossi's music animates the poetry, as the poetry animates the musicians.