When I first met Alberto Parmegiani here in New York City some 28 years ago, it was on my first day of my (now rather lengthy) teaching career. He was a new student, eager to learn and I was a new instructor, eager to teach. I recall how he was the first person to refer to me as “professor” (“professori” to be precise). While there were other students who might have had a bit more natural talent, nobody had more drive to learn and excel at their craft than Alberto. It was a gratifying experience for me to be able to watch him grow from that eager student who couldn’t get enough music in his life, to the deeply devoted, professional guitarist and composer that he is today. I might also add that over the years, our relationship has changed from that of student/teacher to that of friends and colleagues, another thing of which I am very grateful.
It is with great pride that I introduce his second recording to you “On My Radio” (check out his first recording “Under A Shimmery Grace”). From the opening strains of the title cut, you can tell this is going to be an exciting, fresh and hip musical experience. The band is made up of some top-flight performers who are well rehearsed and sensitive to Alberto’s compositions: Claudio Fillippini (piano & keyboards) Daniele Cappucci (bass) Armando Luongo (drums) and Enzo Bacco on saxophone. With Alberto leading the charge on guitar, the group takes us on a unique journey through Alberto’s compositions.
The sign of a good composer is the ability to show his audience different sides of himself. On My Radio and Nite Rite provide us with an unbounded joy; funky, tight and hip. Contrasting to that are the reflective moods of Marzo 1997 and Lydian Sorrow. The two pieces, Close To The Edge (a lovely piano solo by Claudio and a nice feature for the drummer Armando) and For Albert have beautiful, lyrical melodies and the band shows us that they can swing with the best of them on Blues For Denny and The Calculator (dig the bassist, Daniele on this one). We also get a bonus track with the alternate take of Nite Rite, with a completely different approach to Alberto’s amazing guitar solo!
“On My Radio” is a terrific second recording from Alberto Parmegiani and his quintet. I don’t need to tell you that though. If you’re reading this, you’ve got the album and hopefully are listening to it, digging the sounds like I did.
Rich Shemaria New York City, March 22, 2018
Rich Shemaria is a composer, living in New York City. He is composer-in-residence and professor of composition at New York University in the Jazz Studies Department.