Negroni’s Trio – Just Three (2010 Mojito)
The fifth album
from the gifted core of the Negroni musical family – father José on piano and
son Nomar on drums – finds Marco Panascia to be an able, nimble, and imaginative
collaborator on a release that captures the listener from the first notes and
doesn’t let up for nine songs. There is
so much packed into Just Three, you’ll
be turning the title into a question directed at the matter of how many people
are really playing: “Just three?”
The opening
track, “Fingers,” appears to be a driving, dramatic, stop-and-go Latin number,
but when the excitement settles down, we find ourselves in the midst of a barbed
blues that pushes Panascia forward with a terrific solo, topped only by José
Negroni’s good-natured work on the Fender Rhodes. Nomar Negroni’s drumming on the track is
furious and witty, and as tight as that little tiny rototom on the end of the
rack. You know the one: ploink!
“Emotions” begins
with a delightful swing-to-clave alternating structure, combined with that
telepathic Negroni unison playing in the breaks, all of which gives way after the complicated head to a
relaxed piano solo with some remarkably voiced chords that float over the drums. The song concludes with a huge
drum solo that features some intricate support from piano and bass, adding to
Nomar Negroni’s already giant sound.
After that, “Bailando Rumba,” a sly, subdued song that makes the most of
the Fender Rhodes’ sound, is a welcome breather. Another song that boldly combines different rhythmic
feels is “Milani,” which moves from a funky piano groove to a smooth
semi-samba to a odd-metered rock beat, then finds its heart in a swinging samba
again.
The title track, feels more through-composed
and like a chamber jazz piece, as the piano and bass – bowed with great
effectiveness by Panascia – are moved to the front, and Nomar Negroni eases off
a little by working the brushes and cymbals a bit more. Panascia steps up for a wonderful solo in the
middle of the song, and José Negroni demonstrates just how clear and confident
his musical imagination is by delivering a truly lyrical and expressive statement.
There’s good fun
and mock drama in “Golden Man,” which sounds to the ear like a mix of every spy
movie soundtrack ever heard, and features a several riffs and licks that can
evoke a laugh. As one might expect from a
title like “Mi Triguenda,” this song is a blend of many things – a piano
concerto in places, a Latin number in others, a march in still others, all
bound together by the trio’s distinctive approach to stops and breaks, their unusual
sense of musical punctuation.
Two paired songs
complete the album, “Preludio En La Noche” and “Sabado En La Noche.” The “Prelude” is a romantic, impressionistic,
if sometimes sad composition for solo piano, with musical allusions to both “Eleanor
Rigby” and the blues (among others). Its
loveliness shifts to the busy, brighter texture of ”Saturday,” which may be a similar composition
to the one that preceded it, with the added energy and color of drum and bass,
which builds and builds as the track hurtles toward a forceful but nevertheless
expressive solo from Nomar Negroni.
All in all, very
little time and space are wasted in Just
Three, as Negroni’s Trio delivers an album that is full of interesting
compositions, bold and imaginative playing, outstanding musicianship. It is a dense, rewarding, and entertaining
musical experience. You might find
yourself at the end of the last track, still excited by what you heard, asking
yourself, “Is that all the songs there are?
Just nine? I’d like a couple
more, please.”
Personnel
José Negroni – Piano
Nomar Negroni – Drums
Marco Panascia - Bass
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