Artist: Arti & Mestieri

Date of Release: 17/07/2007

Catalogue no: MJR012

Label: MoonJune Records

Price: £9

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Track Listing

BEPPE CROVELLA Hammond organ, Mellotron, Fender Rhodes el. piano, Mini Moog, synth, acoustic piano
FURIO CHIRICO drums, percussion
ROBERTO CASSETTA bass guitar, back vocals
MARCO ROAGNA electric & acoustic guitar
ALFREDO PONISSI soprano/tenor/baritone sax, clarinet, flute
IANO NICOLÓ lead vocals, percussion
LAUTARO ACOSTA violin

Recorded live at Club Cittá Kawasaki, Tokyo, June 12, 2005 during the Japan tour. Produced by Beppe Crovella for Electromantic Music.

Outstanding 7-piece progressive jazz-rock band from Italy. All the power delivered by the spectacular insane drumming of Furio Chirico (often compared to Billy Cobham) and magnificent analog keyboards of maestro Beppe Crovella (Mellotron, Hammond, Mini Moog, Fender Rhodes, acoustic piano), counter-pointed by the beautiful violin passages, killer sax lines, wonderful guitar work, robust bass and challenging vocals. Captured live in Kawasaki/Tokyo, during the Japan tour in June of 2005, this 76 minutes album includes most of the material from their two legendary cult albums “Tilt” (1974) and “Giro Di Valzer Per Domani” (1975) with few newer compositions. In the vein and league of Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return To Forever, Mothers Of Invention, mid ‘70s Soft Machine, King Crimson and Gong.

Reviews

19/05/2007 JOHN KELMAN - ALL ABOUT JAZZ

While the emergence of Punk and New Wave rang the death knell for most progressive rock acts that came to prominence in the 1970s, the ability to create global communities via the internet has led to a surprising resurgence of interest. Italian prog/fusion group Arti & Mestieri garnered considerable acclaim for its first two records—Tilt (Cramps, 1974) and Giro Di Valzer Per Domani (Barclay, 1975)—and then struggled against popular opinion through the 1980s before disbanding in 1988. Reformed in 1998 with founding drummer Furio Chirico, keyboardist Beppe Crovella and guitarist Gigi Venegoni, this largely instrumental outfit began to record and tour again, releasing four full-length CDs and one EP. Recorded in 2005, First Live in Japan is Arti & Mestieri’s first album to receive significant North American distribution, and its energetic delivery of both retrospective and recent material makes it an excellent entry point for newcomers and a boon for existing fans. The 2005 version of Arti & Mestieri finds Venegoni replaced by Marco Roagna and, for the first time since Giro Di Valzer Per Domani, the group is a septet again with violin and woodwinds. Opening with the entire first side of Tilt, the group's power is immediately evident. 'Gravita 9,81' with Lautaro Acosta's violin and Roagna's overdriven guitar pushing the theme over a frenetic 5/4 rhythm from Chirico and bassist Roberto Cassetta, suggests an intriguing cross-pollination of vintage Mahavishnu Orchestra, contrapuntal Gentle Giant and symphonic King Crimson, with Crovella's mellotron a dominant voice. But Arti & Mestieri is equally informed by the music of its own culture, with pastoral hints of the Italian countryside and Mediterranean breezes imbuing the music as well. 'Kawasaki' features Crovella, who demonstrates a Keith Emerson-like classical pianism but without the navel-gazing self-indulgence. It's that overall lack of bombast, in fact, that makes Arti & Mestieri so appealing. All the texture, stylistic breadth, virtuosity and complexity of progressive rock is there, but equally the group can deliver a simple folk tune like 'Glory' one of Iano Nicolo's few vocal tracks. A suite of six tunes from Giro Di Valzer Per Domani ranges from the lilting waltz of 'Valzer Per Domani' to the raucous 'Mirafiori' featuring frenzied solos from Roagna and Acosta. While all the players are notable, Chirico and Crovella stand out. Chirico's a vibrant powerhouse who nevertheless knows when to pull back, while Crovella is a master of texture, melody and invention throughout. Despite revisiting old material, what makes First Live in Japan so strong is that the music doesn't feel retro at all. The more complex, idiosyncratic and episodic '2000' may signal where the group is heading, but the suites from its first two classic albums sound no less contemporary. Some bands reform to cash in on a revival of interest, but the vibrant Arti & Mestieri is clearly back to do more than merely regurgitate past successes.

10/10/2005 PETER PARDO, SEA OF TRANQUILITY MAGAZINE, USA

“f you are a fan of 70's Italian prog rock fusion, then you certainly should remember the name Arti & Mestieri. This band released two classic albums back in the day, 1974's Tilt, and 1975's Giro Di Valzer Per Domani, both considered staples of Italian fusion and often compared to releases from The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever, Frank Zappa, and UK. The band broke up in the 80's and reformed once again in the late 1990's, and this live CD contains a performance from Tokyo in 2005, with material mostly drawn from the two legendary albums plus some solid new pieces. Led by the stellar talents of drummer Furio Chirico, the band also features keyboard player Beppe Crovella (Hammond organ, Mellotron, Fender Rhodes, piano, synths), guitarist Marco Roagna, violinist Lautaro Acosta, sax/flute player Alfredo Ponissi, bassist Roberto Cassetta, and vocalist Iano Nicolo. Each player is a virtuoso in his own right, and gets plenty of room to show their talents. Tunes like "Positivo/Negativo", "Strips", "In Cammino", "Mirafiore", "Dimensione Terra", and "2000" contain plenty of searing guitar solos, soaring violin, acrobatic rhythms, vintage keyboard sounds, and jazzy reeds, all played with fire and finesse. At times complex, other times loose and airy, the arrangements here are always classy and played with tremendous skill from all the musicians. Although each member gets ample opportunity to solo throughout this set, it's a total band effort all the way around, and even though many of these songs were written well over 30 years ago, they still hold up well and show what great songwriters Arti & Mestieri are. Make no mistake about it, First Live in Japan is a monumental live recording, showing that this veteran band has not lost a step whatsoever. Highest Recommendations here folks! “