Exposé Online banner

Exposé Online

Not just outside the box, but denying the existence of boxes.
Covering music from the fringes since 1993.

Reviews

Claudio Scolari Project — Opera 8
(Bandcamp Principal Records no#, 2024, CD / DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2024-07-03

Opera 8 Cover art

Claudio Scolari and company have been a going concern since 2010, at least as far as recordings go, though since Upside Down (2019) their new releases have been an annual event, the group settling out as a quartet, featuring de-facto leader Claudio Scolari (drum kit #1, synth programming), Daniele Cavalca (drum kit #2, piano, Fender Rhodes, live synths), Simone Scolari (trumpet), and Michele Cavalca (bass). Their music is instantly identifiable from the sound, as well as its improvisational character, although it seems that some parts are composed. It resides squarely in the jazz realm, though it’s anything but your typical free jazz; the combination of the various parts, occasional double drumming, piano, electronics, and the everpresent trumpet make for a unique style of their own, a mix of Miles and Sun Ra with a gentler approach than the former and less craziness than the latter, and there are no vocals or voices on any of the albums I’ve heard (everything from Upside Down onward), though the trumpet provides enough of a voice for the whole combo to get behind. Sometimes as on “Electric Groove Expedition” a funky groove is found and forced forward with determined glee — though it’s hard to know which of the two drummers is manning the kit at any given time, and which is providing the synths and electronics, it’s probably easier to not think too much about it and just enjoy the ongoing interplay between the quartet. The closer “View from Above,” is pretty much synth driven throughout, offering a respectful nod to pop-fusion artists like Herbie Hancock. The group takes a gentler, more dreamy tack with the sprawling “Primordial Forces,” though as a group they never get too far away from their easily identifiable sound, probably due to the ever-soloing trumpet. If the Scolari project’s last few albums were to your liking, then Opus 8 (referring to their eighth album overall) should be to your liking as well.

Filed under: New releases, 2024 releases

Related artist(s): Claudio Scolari (Project)

More info
http://claudioscolariproject.bandcamp.com/album/opera-8

 

What's new

These are the most recent changes made to artists, releases, and articles.