Recommended: Falga – “Falga”

Always on the verge of falling to pieces is how the self-titled debut from the quintet Falga presents itself.  There’s a sense of parts connected merely through strong belief and sheer force of will.  There are gaps in between melodic statements that imply no sort of causation or relationship.  The rhythmic process gives the impression that falling down stairs is a purposeful state of existence.  Harmonies seem to move in directions counter that of any melodic intent.  And yet the quintet of baritone saxophonist Giuseppe Doronzo, guitarist Lucio Tasca, pianist Federico Pozzer, bassist Andrea Caruso and drummer Aleksandar Škorić infuse the music of Falga with a center of gravity that keeps all of its elements in a tight orbit… often not in concert with one another, but close enough to where implied relationships and suggestive connectivity gives a sense of a very loose cohesion.  It’s a supremely appealing trait, and it’s why this music explodes with so much damn personality.

If it can be said there’s a glue that binds these individual tunes, it’s in the way that a striking melodic inspiration suddenly materializes in the thick of it all, providing a new perspective and something to hold onto.  “Pigeons” gets it done and barely has to raise its voice.  “Craters at the Sunset” does at the outset of each new plateau of intensity.  But with “Mannaggia,” it happens piecemeal and at an uneven tempo, as if watching the melody through the thick haze of a heatwave.  It’s never when you expect it and never comes at you from the same place twice, but each time a vivid melodic image shines through all those spaces in between, it just brings everything together.

A very cool album.

Your album personnel:  Giuseppe Doronzo (baritone sax), Lucio Tasca (guitar), Federico Pozzer (piano), Andrea Caruso (double bass) and Aleksandar Škorić (drums, percussion).

Released on Cantina Records.

Listen to more of the album at the artist’s Bandcamp page.

Jazz from the Groningen, Netherlands scene.

Available at:  Bandcamp