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Severino Gazzelloni

3K views 16 replies 4 participants last post by  Lambros 
#1 ·
I guess this subject isn’t anything new but listening to Dolphy and seeing Gunther Schuller as musician of the day prompted me to ask if anyone here can recommend Gazzelloni’s ventures in the jazz realm. His renditions of the Vivaldi concertos for flute are beautiful and very interesting. What’s out there to listen to?
 
#2 ·
He was the flutist who was always there on telly ( we only had two channels and three later on for a very very long time!) throughout my entire life in Italy. " il flauto d'oro" was quite a character , vain to the outmost but I liked him and his playing.

Later on I've heard people who criticized him and his artistic choices. He liked making a bit of money and luxury life, but can anyone really say no to these things if given the chance?

As a young flute player ( I started playing, badly, the flute at 13) he was certainly an inspiration for me although I was playing rock stuff at the time.

Of course you know that Eric Dolphy dedicated him a piece in the album out to lunch.

His work with Luciano Berio is of course very important. They were good friends and did a lot of things together. Also Bruno Maderna compositions were played by him .



Franco Evangelisti

 
#4 ·
:cheers:
 
#5 ·
Dolphy recorded 2 very beautiful flute solos that were released posthumously on a blue note record entitled Other Aspects. They both had the same name (inner flight) and were numbered 1&2 and were separated by an alto sax and bass duet (Ron Carter) named Dolphy’n. Very reminiscent of Gazzelloni and also close to the neo classical vibe Eric would occasionally evoke. There’s also a very moving piece called Jim Crow where Dolphy plays all 3 of his main instruments in successive movements. The last resolution movement features a brief but hauntingly beautiful solo. Excellent record if you care to listen to where his flute playing was headed.
 
#7 ·
Dolphy recorded 2 very beautiful flute solos that were released posthumously on a blue note record entitled Other Aspects. They both had the same name (inner flight) and were numbered 1&2 and were separated by an alto sax and bass duet (Ron Carter) named Dolphy'n. Very reminiscent of Gazzelloni and also close to the neo classical vibe Eric would occasionally evoke. There's also a very moving piece called Jim Crow where Dolphy plays all 3 of his main instruments in successive movements. The last resolution movement features a brief but hauntingly beautiful solo. Excellent record if you care to listen to where his flute playing was headed.
Very nice indeed and in many ways reminiscent of some Gazzelloni playing perhaps also of the many Italian composers who worked in the film industry in the '60.





See Severino Gazzelloni playing here with a young Claudio Abbado.

The comments of the youtube video contain the usual bashings.



As mentioned before Severino Gazzelloni was a TV star in Italy throughout his life but certainly in the '60 and '70. He appeared in many programs, sometimes concerts, but more often appearing in variety programs or promoting his records ( Aria sulla quarta corda , Air on the G string ) made it to the Hit Parade!

At the time there were few people as great as Mina (a vocalist whom has a Goddess status in Italy, to this day), she went from light music to become a TV hostess herself.

Unavoidably at the time there had to be some Swing-Classical music ( a la swingle singers with their incredibly successful Jazz Sebastian Bach record).

Here it is Severino Gazzelloni duetting with Mina and the RAI ( Italian National TV Organization) choir and orchestra.

 
#6 ·
Dolphy dedicated this piece to Severino Gazzelloni in Out to lunch, apparently because Gazzelloni had complimented him on his sound after a concert.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_to_Lunch!

It is possible that he admired Severino Gazzelloni as a musician but it is also possible that he simply was retuning the attention that he had received.

It has to be said that this piece probably because it was a little more conventional than otherwise, impressed a lot and has been covered many times by many artists and in many different ways










 
#8 ·
You really filled this thread out milandro thanks! And thanks especially for the Gazzelloni performance of Ravel, beautiful! Dolphy states that he admired Gazzelloni quite plainly on the liner notes of Out to Lunch. Dolphy had a continuity in the naming of his albums with the word ‘out’ in the title; 2 Prestige albums and the one Blue Note.
Really you think it’s conventional (Gazzelloni)? Interesting. I think Bobby Hutcherson almost is a guarantee of it being unconventional. This is one of my favorite albums and the one I think Dolphy was proudest of. I could be wrong though.
I’m hoping that Tim Price chimes in here because he actually studied with one of Eric’s flute teachers, Howard Jones. Your compatriot Mascio is also an admirer of Dolphy and I’m sure he knows who Gazzelloni is on the same type of level where it was direct exposure through the Italian broadcasts you described. We discussed a duet that Eric recorded with Ron Carter of the song Alone Together a few years back. I admire the genuine passion of the Italians for music. It’s unmistakable and deep.
 
#13 ·
I recall an article written by a composer in the sixties (perhaps Berio?) who critizised, that so many mediocre pieces for solo flute have been written at that time (following Berios Sequenza) because the composers knew that they would be played by Gazzelloni and would sound great only because of that.

Wonderful flute solo at Daphnis et Cloe by Gazzelloni - but the following alto flute solo isn't so great ....
 
#14 ·
I love flute, and I love saxophone- and I'm so glad so they're equal in my world. But I HATE clarinet...
 
#15 ·
Sounds like you’re very passionate about your hatred for the clarinet roundmidnite. I won’t ask for the reason(s) as I’m sure there are valid ones. I’ve found that categorically hating something is the perfect place to be in beginning to really understanding it. Critical hearing is on point which then allows for actual unbiased listening and that may in turn lead to participation. Who knows? You might love the clarinet and have misplaced your hatred. Love and hate are constantly competing with each other, please try not to let hate win all the time. I will stop now so that the risk of having sounded patronizing is hopefully avoided.
 
#16 ·
Sounds like you're very passionate about your hatred for the clarinet roundmidnite. I won't ask for the reason(s) as I'm sure there are valid ones. I've found that categorically hating something is the perfect place to be in beginning to really understanding it. Critical hearing is on point which then allows for actual unbiased listening and that may in turn lead to participation. Who knows? You might love the clarinet and have misplaced your hatred. Love and hate are constantly competing with each other, please try not to let hate win all the time. I will stop now so that the risk of having sounded patronizing is hopefully avoided.
I guess I could look for my clarinet Lambros- I think I own one... somewhere. It's probably with the iron I haven't used in years! :)
 
#17 ·
Well roundmidnite I must commend you for this brave undertaking. I was listening to some of your songs today and was quite impressed especially with your tenor playing. I couldn’t help but think early Joe Henderson with your phrasing and that delicate balance of smooth and tough/brawling tone shifts he was known for. Thanks for having a few of these songs available to listen to. Can you recommend a song that features what you feel to be your signature alto sax and/or flute playing?
 
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