Description
This hugely enjoyable and highly inventive album is dedicated to the late Italian writer Umberto Eco, a lifelong friend of accordionist Gianni Coscia and an ardent champion of this particular duo.
Eco's The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loanna, a meditation on the nature of memory, inspires Trovesi and Coscia on their own nostalgic and exploratory journey, referencing music mentioned in the novel and free-associating upon its philosophical themes. As ever, the Italians cast a wide net, playing songs associated with Louis Armstrong, Glenn Miller and George Formby, paraphrasing Janá 269;ek, dipping into movie music, and improvising most creatively while keeping their dedicatee in view.
Repertoire revisits "Interludio", a piece that Umberto Eco and Gianni Coscia collaborated on 70 years ago, and Gianluigi Trovesi crafts a new composition on the letters of Eco's name. From multiple perspectives, a brilliant tribute.
Personnel: Gianluigi Trovesi (piccolo clarinet, alto clarinet), Gianni Coscia (accordion)