Words by Justin Turford
“I want to experiment with peace—I want to explore all the elements of peace. That’s the most important thing in my life.” - Ahmad Jamal (RIP)
I had the great pleasure to work with and befriend the UK based Italian pianist and composer Ilario Ferrari at the inaugural Watford Jazz Junction festival in 2022, his gentle spiritual demeanor and colourful and dramatic piano playing a rare harmonic pairing in the world of musicians. And here with his new album ‘Be Yourself’, he has achieved another harmonious relationship with the Neapolitan Ondanueve String Quartet with an ambitious and expansive record comprising of two beautifully composed and arranged suites. The first suite is based on a classical Rondo, the second suite is a personalised musical vision of an Indian Yantra inspired in part by by a journey in India and also by the relationship with his partner of South Indian origin.
“The drawing that you see in the CD artwork is done by myself after a trip in India with my partner Pavan. I have been inspired by the tradition of the Yantras, which are geometric drawings used in meditation. I thought to base "Be Yourself 2" on a creative interpretation of a Yantra. The two triangles symbolise the equilibrium between male and female, if you notice the C clefs at the sides, the small circles point at a suspended chord upon which I have based a lot of the ‘Be Yourself 2’ composition.” - Ilario Ferrari
The first suite (the songs are prefixed by ‘Be Yourself 1’) travels through many a sonic doorway - from the spiritual chamber jazz of opener ‘Home’ via the vigorous drama of ‘Mediterranean Dance’ to the jaunty baroque sway of ‘Tarantelle Swing’. The classical and the jazz idioms merge and separate flawlessly; in combination, new shapes and moods appear. Emotionally generous in scope, compositions such as ‘Introspection 1’ move from aggressively played strings to mellow abstracted softness. The interplay between the string quartet and Ilario’s piano is absolutely superb, his complex compositional structures performed with a playful virtuosic dexterity, a sense of fun inherent throughout each piece.
The ‘Be Yourself 2’ half commences with the stylistically heterogeneous ‘Rebirth’. A mini-suite in itself, the track goes through several tempo and mood changes - a tender ballad morphs into a funky raga influenced circular groove before ending with theatrical turmoil - a skin has been shed. The absolutely lovely ‘Sharing and Friendship’ is an appropriately titled piece brimming with warmth and sentimental chords. Modern classical music at its most romantic, there is an air of the recently departed Ryuichi Sakamoto about the piece, with deep waters being exposed to the light.
The combination of improvisational jazz, the Indian and European classical traditions and a modernist even cinematic approach to the compositions and performances is really quite something special and perfectly realised. ‘The Dance of Death’ is another long piece that progresses from an impressionistic intro to an experimental baroque opera, the Italian classical traditions melding with the ‘gypsy jazz’ of street theatre before closing with a moment of reflection.
The sense of travel permeates both suites, whether it be internally or externally. Many miles are traversed as are emotions and thoughts. The album ends on the contemplative ‘Union’, heavy on the strings, a sense of wistful completion is achieved.
A heavenly record that will offer something different to each listener. 10/10.
The players:
Ilario Ferrari - Piano & Composition
Paolo Sasso - Violin
Andrea Esposito - Violin
Luigi Tufano - Viola
Marco Pescosolido - Violoncello
‘Be Yourself’ is released on 21 April 2023 on Cadiz Music)
BUY HERE! https://ilarioferrari.bandcamp.com/album/be-yourself