| Artist(s) | Alex Munk, Gianmarco Scaglia, ICHOS PERCUSSION Quintet, John Moulder, Mirko Pedrotti, Paul Wertico |
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| Composer(s) | Gianmarco Scaglia, John Cage, Mirko Pedrotti, Paolo Ugoletti, Paul Wertico, Saverio Tasca |
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| Instrumentation | Bass, Drums, Glockenspiel, Guitar, Marimba, Percussion, Vibraphone |
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One of the many aspects under which today’s world differs – and probably for the worse – from yesterday’s is what we could call the parcellation of culture. Each and every sector constitutes a field of hyper-specialization, hardly communicating with those surrounding it. Even in music, one needs only enter a record shop to see the albums neatly arranged under a number of categories, as if inspiration could be confined within the boundaries of a straightjacket of genres. Conversely, there is always the risk of reiterating what has already been said, of seeking the reassurance of a musical comfort zone, of remaining firmly within the domain of the “acceptable” and of the “usual”.
There is no such risk in Paul Wertico’s album issued here by Da Vinci Classics. There are no two pieces sounding alike, but, at the same time, the intensity of the musicians’ personality unifies and lends coherence and consistency to the whole album. Labels are almost impossible to find and to define; the pieces smartly elude all attempts at classification. This music is alive, even more than “live”; and, as happens to all living beings, it cannot be analyzed or vivisected. It pulsates, breathes, moves about and seeks its way with the unforeseeable spontaneity of an organism in full possession of its will and ability.
It is a music full of curiosity, which reveals the variety, diversity and heterogeneity of its sources of nourishment. Indeed, that living organism is omnivorous; its nurture and culture draw from a multiplicity of stimuli, which include musical genres, sounds, inspirations and features normally considered as reciprocally exclusive.
This music is not just beautiful to listen to; it is also an ideological manifesto, claiming, by its very existence, that most boundaries between musical genres are entirely artificial, arbitrary, and culturally construed. They cannot stand close scrutiny; they cannot survive the provocations, challenges and countercultural claims offered by the mere existence of this extraordinary album.
By browsing the pieces recorded here, one is amazed by the variety of sounds produced by Wertico and the fellow travelers of this exciting musical journey. The combinations of the instruments’ timbres are always changing, evolving and moving as if in a kaleidoscope. Each instrument has its own typical sound and – relatedly – its favourite expressive sphere; yet, by their interaction, they are subtly modified. By entering into a musical dialogue with other instruments, frequently radically different from each other, every instrument (and, of course, their players) undergoes a transformation. Far from flattening their diversity into homogeneity, this process accomplishes the impossible task of creating new musical hybrids. Just as happens in nature, these hybrids are not “half this, half that” – incomplete, bizarre, abstruse – but, instead, they are entirely new creatures, autonomous, self-standing, and bearing just a family resemblance with those whence they originate.
The zenith of this adventure is represented by the dialogue, at a distance, with John Cage’s Third Construction. Here, Cage’s piece was “discovered” step by step, note by note, by Wertico, who listened to it for the first time while improvising upon it. And here too we have an experience very similar to that of “lived life”. While technology allows us to repeatedly listen to a piece of music, and to a particular interpretation, in real life no performance is the same as another; imperfections are welcome, and the spontaneous process of discovery is akin to a reciprocal “taming” between composer and listener. Cage, who wrote the original Third Construction, and Wertico who improvised on it, are getting to know each other in spite of the temporal and spatial gap dividing them. Cage’s music reveals itself gradually, as happens with all temporal phenomena and with all friendships; Wertico’s receptivity is in turn unveiled and constantly challenged as the process progresses.
The result is a once-in-a lifetime experience, since after that enchanted moment the naivety of discovery is lost. Experience replaces enchantment, and knowledge somehow stifles the awe and excitement of a premiere. Fortunately, and even though no reproduction can replace a living being, that session had been recorded, and we are therefore allowed to observe, moment after moment, the process of veiling/unveiling/revealing taking place under our eyes. Chiara Bertoglio © 2023
Luca Vanoli, Glockenspiel
Giorgio Calvo, Marimba
Fabio Zuliani, Marimba
Gianmaria Romanenghi, percussions, Timpani
Nicolò Giovanni Demurtas, percussions
Paul Wertico
Hailed in the press as “One of the most versatile and musical drummers in music today,” Paul Wertico was a member of the Pat Metheny Group from 1983 to 2001. During that time, he won seven Grammy Awards (three for Best Jazz Fusion Performance, three for Best Contemporary Jazz Performance, and one for Best Rock Instrumental Performance), won numerous magazine polls, received several gold records, and played drums & percussion on David Bowie’s hit recording (with the Pat Metheny Group), “This Is Not America.”
He has played with countless artists and has performed in all 50 states and in over 60 countries. Paul has also played drums and percussion on hundreds of recordings, including Paul Winter’s Grammy nominated release, Earth: Voices of a Planet, and on four of vocalist Kurt Elling’s Grammy nominated releases. He also hosted his own weekly radio show, Paul Wertico’s Wild World of Jazz, from 2010 to 2012.
In 2004, Paul was named a Chicago Tribune “Chicagoan of the Year.” In 2010, the Cape Breton International Drum Festival honored him with a “Life Time Achievement Award” for his “Major Contribution To The World Of Drumming & Education,” and that year he was also a recipient of the Montréal Drum Fest’s “Lifetime Achievement Award.” As Musical Director for the crowdsourced TV video series Inventing The Future, Paul was nominated for a 2012-2013 Emmy Award in the “Outstanding Achievement In Interactivity” category by The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Midwest Chapter. He's also the inventor of his signature product, TUBZ, made by Promark.
Paul is also extremely active in the field of education. In addition to teaching drums privately for over 50 years, Paul is an Associate Professor of Jazz Studies at Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts, and before becoming a full-time faculty member at CCPA for 20 years, he served on the wind & percussion faculty of Northwestern University for 16 years. For over five decades, he’s conducted drum masterclasses, clinics, and workshops around the world and has written educational articles for numerous magazines. He also serves on the Advisory Board and the Pro-Panel of Modern Drummer magazine, the Education Committee of the Jazz Institute of Chicago, and he served five terms on the Board of Governors of The Recording Academy Chicago Chapter. Paul’s groundbreaking drum instructional book TURN THE BEAT AROUND (A Drummer’s Guide to Playing “Backbeats” on 1 & 3) was published by Alfred Music in 2017.
As a solo recording artist, Paul’s recordings have all received great critical praise and DownBeat magazine listed Paul’s CD, Impressions of a City, as one its “Best CDs of 2010.” His DVD, Paul Wertico's Drum Philosophy, was named “One of the best drum videos of the last 25 years” by Modern Drummer magazine. LA Weekly even wrote “His recent records, such as 2000’s Don’t Be Scared Anymore and the new StereoNucleosis, are stunning examples of the electronic, rhythmic and intellectual directions jazz could be going."
In the international press, Paul’s drumming has also been compared to that of an “Impressionist painter,” and he has also been called “an inspired madman,” “a restless innovator,” “a true legend of jazz drums,” “a master of drumming insanity,” “a genius of the sticks,” and a recent review stated, “Wertico simply oozes musicality.”
Paul’s official website is: paulwertico.com
John Cage (b Los Angeles, 5 Sept 1912; d New York, 12 Aug 1992). American composer. One of the leading figures of the postwar avant garde. The influence of his compositions, writings and personality has been felt by a wide range of composers around the world. He has had a greater impact on music in the 20th century than any other American composer.
Paul Wertico
Hailed in the press as “One of the most versatile and musical drummers in music today,” Paul Wertico was a member of the Pat Metheny Group from 1983 to 2001. During that time, he won seven Grammy Awards (three for Best Jazz Fusion Performance, three for Best Contemporary Jazz Performance, and one for Best Rock Instrumental Performance), won numerous magazine polls, received several gold records, and played drums & percussion on David Bowie’s hit recording (with the Pat Metheny Group), “This Is Not America.”
He has played with countless artists and has performed in all 50 states and in over 60 countries. Paul has also played drums and percussion on hundreds of recordings, including Paul Winter’s Grammy nominated release, Earth: Voices of a Planet, and on four of vocalist Kurt Elling’s Grammy nominated releases. He also hosted his own weekly radio show, Paul Wertico’s Wild World of Jazz, from 2010 to 2012.
In 2004, Paul was named a Chicago Tribune “Chicagoan of the Year.” In 2010, the Cape Breton International Drum Festival honored him with a “Life Time Achievement Award” for his “Major Contribution To The World Of Drumming & Education,” and that year he was also a recipient of the Montréal Drum Fest’s “Lifetime Achievement Award.” As Musical Director for the crowdsourced TV video series Inventing The Future, Paul was nominated for a 2012-2013 Emmy Award in the “Outstanding Achievement In Interactivity” category by The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Midwest Chapter. He's also the inventor of his signature product, TUBZ, made by Promark.
Paul is also extremely active in the field of education. In addition to teaching drums privately for over 50 years, Paul is an Associate Professor of Jazz Studies at Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts, and before becoming a full-time faculty member at CCPA for 20 years, he served on the wind & percussion faculty of Northwestern University for 16 years. For over five decades, he’s conducted drum masterclasses, clinics, and workshops around the world and has written educational articles for numerous magazines. He also serves on the Advisory Board and the Pro-Panel of Modern Drummer magazine, the Education Committee of the Jazz Institute of Chicago, and he served five terms on the Board of Governors of The Recording Academy Chicago Chapter. Paul’s groundbreaking drum instructional book TURN THE BEAT AROUND (A Drummer’s Guide to Playing “Backbeats” on 1 & 3) was published by Alfred Music in 2017.
As a solo recording artist, Paul’s recordings have all received great critical praise and DownBeat magazine listed Paul’s CD, Impressions of a City, as one its “Best CDs of 2010.” His DVD, Paul Wertico's Drum Philosophy, was named “One of the best drum videos of the last 25 years” by Modern Drummer magazine. LA Weekly even wrote “His recent records, such as 2000’s Don’t Be Scared Anymore and the new StereoNucleosis, are stunning examples of the electronic, rhythmic and intellectual directions jazz could be going."
In the international press, Paul’s drumming has also been compared to that of an “Impressionist painter,” and he has also been called “an inspired madman,” “a restless innovator,” “a true legend of jazz drums,” “a master of drumming insanity,” “a genius of the sticks,” and a recent review stated, “Wertico simply oozes musicality.”
Paul’s official website is: paulwertico.com
