Things To Say

“Weather Bird”, the 1928 duet recorded in Chicago by Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines is a classic of the jazz art. Now, almost a century later, a latter-day trumpeter and pianist come together with a set that captures much of the exuberance of that early recording, but with a depth of experience and deep listening behind it, too. Trumpeter Flavio Boltro and pianist Fabio Giachino show an immediate chemistry on Things To Say, released by CAM JAZZ. Recorded during the dark and still plague-haunted winter of 2020, it traces an arc of emotion that runs from sombre reflection to life-affirming energy. It isn’t a programmatic record; it isn’t “about” 2020, or the specific Italian experience during the pandemic; but it conveys much of that year’s complex and shifting moods. It’s also sheerly and completely entertaining. Great jazz has always come out of adversity – that is perhaps its defining characteristic – and Things To Say fits confidently into that great tradition.  (Brian Morton)

Recorded in Torino in December 2020 at Riverside Studio by Alessandro Taricco

Photos by Elisa Caldana

Liner notes by Brian Morton