The Italians love opera, and this is also true for Danilo Rea, the pianist who seems predestined for his national passion, having studied classical piano at the music academy Santa Cecilia in his home town Rome. Even after having devoted himself to jazz, he didn’t focus exclusively on American standards like so many jazz musicians do, but concentrated more on merging the musical tradition of his native country with the vocabulary of jazz. This can be heard clearly on his ACT – debut A Tribute To Fabrizio De Andre’ that was chosen as Best Piano Album 2010 by the italian jazz magazine Musica Jazz.
It was through his favourite composer Puccini that Rea discovered his love for opera music. After lirico in 2004, on Opera, he now fully dedicates himself to Italian music. For this artistic adventure, Danilo Rea joins forces with world-class North Italian trumpeter Flavio Boltro, who suits the project perfectly. Not only has he studied classical music at the academy in Turin and worked with symphony orchestras, but he is also open to different genres and willing to experiment with them.
From the very first note Rea and Boltro prove themselves to be excellent lyricists, who are not afraid of high drama or big emotions, but their focus remains on the melody of the original songs: Despite the respect for these opera classics that is evident throughout the entire album, there is also lots of space for musical innovation. Being two of the most creative improvisers of the scene, Rea and Boltro constantly come up with exciting rhythmic variations – opera and jazz merge into one another without ever sounding contrived or unnatural. A prime example is Rossini’s Sinfonia dal Guglielmo Tell with its up-tempo feel where the focus is on the dramatics of the song. Rea and Boltro succeed in creating the ideal combination of outstanding technique, astonishing arrangements and convincing improvisation. The source of inspiration for this expedition into the world of Italian opera was Schloss Elmau in the Bavarian Alps, known as the favourite hideaway of many jazz and classical artists. Four of the ten pieces they played there on the 9th of December 2010 were recorded with a live audience. According to Rea the concerts at Schloss Elmau always have a magical atmosphere. The same can be said about this fascinating duo album.