OU – Pisces Crisis

Jazz Weekly: Here’s a fun one! An Italian sextet lead by Ersilia Prosperi who composes, sings and plays the trumpet and ukulele he in artsy and quirky tunes that are sung in English, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian and even Sardinian. He brings together….

Pisces crises, l’album scritto dalla compositrice e trombettista sarda Ersilia Prosperi, prodotto daAmy Denio ed eseguito dalla ricca e variegata band Ou scorre con grande piacevolezza e gusto, e riscuote apprezzamento da parte di tutt* …

It’s such a diverse world the one where the band “OU”, a sextet from Rome (Italy),
moves and plays its music. Music bound to an idea of composition
derived from the “rock in opposition” and from the european jazz tradition.
Moving from there the music is somehow transposed in lands of sounds where
the poliphonic vocals (palle di natale), the portuguese fado (Wok),
the band orchestrations (C’è la crisi?) and the short non-sense of sounds sequences,
(L’inno di OU) are blended in with each other in harmonious and effective ways….

Il termine sardo Ou significa uovo e a covarlo è un ensemble equalmente diviso fra tre ragazze sarde e tre ragazzi romani. Il sestetto ha così poi imbandito un bel pranzo a suon di jazz bislacco e giocoso che vaga tra le epoche e categorie swing, avant, brass, folk e via dicendo.
Ad accorgersi delle capacità di Ersilia Prosperi (tromba, ukulele, flicorno soprano), Sabrina Coda (sax alto, sax soprano), Martina Fadda (voce), Luca Venitucci (piano, fender rhodes, organo hammond), Claudio Mosconi (basso) e Cristiano De Fabritiis (batteria, vibrafono, glockenspiel) è stata la statunitense Amy Denio, musicista out-rock e sperimentale, già in passato con svariati progetti tra cui i monumentali Tone Dogs….

Forget about Dave Stewart and cohorts, though, for the agile arrangements featured in Pisces Crisis also reflect the “smilingly bitter” sarcasm of artists who – despite the relief given by their experiences abroad – are inevitably tired of inhabiting the sickening universe of Italy’s systematic contradictions. Sonically speaking, think of a lightweight version of Carla Bley (rightly quoted in the album’s CD Baby page as an indirect reference) with the addition of the naïve emotions – always permeated of depth – of entities such as the never enough lauded Aqsak Maboul. Make no mistake: these superficial equivalences are not implying that Ou are mere imitators. A cumulative identity is clearly in sight

Qualcosa a metà tra le Voci Atroci e Carla Bley, volendo essere brutalmente schematici senza far torto a nessuno. Gli Ou – “uovo” in dialetto sardo – nascono su iniziativa di Ersilia Prosperi (tromba, flugelhorn, ukulele e voce) si ampliano a sestetto e incontrano la complicità di un nomedi riferimento di quell’area eretica che gioca di sponda tra jazz, contemporanea e avant rock, la statunitense Amy Denio, che oltre a contribuire con voce e sax produce l’esordio della formazione…

Ou… a joyful, multidimensional romp through the Mediterranean and the Americas that will make you want to think and dance at the same time …..Like a number of recent genre-shredding records, the music on Pisces Crisis pulls a lot of diverse elements and influences into an idiosyncratic mix which make sense when put together into a coherent whole. Often, the band will jump sounds and genres within a song. A good example of this can be found on “Palle di Natale,” which starts out with a cappella vocals which sound like big band era harmonies mixed with the ethereal sounds of the Finnish folk band Loituma. Soon the band jumps in with an angular jazz interlude..

What happens if a group of sardinian talented girls crosses musical pathways with Amy Denio, leading figure of the Seattle avant jazz scene (and co-founder of the Tiptons and Tone Dogs )? “Pisces Crisis” is a collaboration between the sardinian-roman ensemble by Ersilia Prosperi and the Amy Denio’s Spoot Music label. It explores different aspects of jazz with lightness and irony, without worrying much about music genres boundaries .

Is a music reviewer, I can guarantee nothing, since all I publish is opinions…. but as a jazz buff (& sometimes player), I can certainly assure you that this music is (& will be, forever) the most unique, and at the same time heartwarming, as you’ll ever listen to. It came my way via my pal Amy Denio, & of course those who read this magazine frequently will know that I would expect nothing less than perfection on pieces like “Wok” when Amy recommends it! If you grasp the wonderfulness of pieces like the marvelous “La Mentita” – you can grok anything the world throws at ya’ – this is my personal favorite of the dozen tunes offered up! Amy’s the producer on this one, when you hear tunes like “Paese di Stronzi“, you’ll know you’re in the presence of pure musical genius. I give this one a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED..

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