Gianmaria Testa: Vitamia

Claudio Dadone, guitars; Giancarlo Bianchetti, guitars; Nicola Negrini, double bass; Philippe Garcia, percussion; Roberto Cipelli, piano; Mario Brunello, violin, Gianluca Petrella, trombone;
Luciano Biondini, accordion; Carlo De Martini, viola and violin

Gianmaria Testa
Nuovo / Lasciami andare / Lele / Dimestichezze d'amor / Cordiali saluti / Mila giorni / Aquadub / Sottosopra / 20 Mila leghe (in fondo al mare) / Di niente, meta / La giostra

Five years after Da questa parte del mare, his concept album on the theme of modern migrations, winner of the 2007 Targa Tenco Prize, Gianmaria Testa's new CD, VITAMIA, will be released on October 2011 VITAMIA ("My Life"): Eleven tracks that embody personal and political reflections spanning some fifty years or "18 thousand days" (to quote the title of one of the album's songs). Like life itself, VITAMIA is a fresco of human emotions that draws on an immense diversity of musical colors and nuances. VITAMIA may very well be the CD that you weren't expecting from Gianmaria Testa--one in which musical settings and the sheer pleasure of making music play leading roles, with a pronounced and dramatic alternation between soft and loud dynamics. studio recording made in one week under "live" conditions, VITAMIA boasts a strong, close-knit group of musicians who are all longtime collaborators with Gianamaria Testa: on guitars, Claudio Dadone (who also arranged several tracks and assisted Gianmaria Testa and Paola Farinetti with artistic pre-production); Giancarlo Bianchetti, also on guitars; on double bass, Nicola Negrini; on percussion, Philippe Garcia; and on piano, Roberto Cipelli (who wrote the string arrangement for "Lele"). A select group of remarkable musical guests joins them: on violin, Mario Brunello (who serves up in the finale of "Lele" a genuine marvel, an Armenian sound both beguiling and gut-wrenching); on trombone, Gianluca Petrella (who offers freewheeling, imaginative variations in "Cordiali saluti" and more intimate and melodic ones in "Di niente, metà"); Luciano Biondini, who sprinkles his accordion magic onto three songs; and Carlo De Martini on viola and violin in the string trio of "Lele." There are striking new touches of no small importance in the context of Gianmaria Testa's musical career: the use of electric guitars, including distortion effects; and the absence of wind instruments, with the exception of Petrella's almost electric trombone.

Price: $23.98