ICTUS RECORDS' 30th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION

Play What You Feel
Michael McCaw (AllAboutJazz.com)

It is a common adage that true artisans know no boundaries be it borders or styles, and while such labels are often applied to musicians around the world performing music in a variety of genres, few have transversed as much artistic ground as Andrea Centazzo. So much so that what you have in your hands only represents a portion of the multitude of Centazzo the musician. However, this portion holds massive weight compared to most catalogs. Comprised of duos, trios, orchestras and numerous configurations in between featuring musicians like Steve Lacy, Anthony Coleman, Evan Parker, John Zorn, Tom Cora, John Carter, Gianluigi Trovesi, Derek Bailey, and the Rova Saxophone Quartet among others; the music here is immediate whether recorded 1976 or 2005.

An original if nothing else, Centazzo is always forging new sounds and new associations. It is easy to look at his resume and see the output from free jazz to orchestral works to installation pieces and say he is an eclectic mind, but to really reveal the sound the man permeates is to truly listen to him in a purely musical context regardless of the grouping of musicians around him. Consistently learning and redefining his own role, to hear a musician retain and develop this identity amidst varying formats is a constant pleasure, and one in abundance here. No one comes to these ends immediately with out trials and tribulations. Of learning how to develop a language between cohorts, and Centazzo is aware of this himself. Attempting to figure out what Lacy desired of him nearly thirty years ago, of how to contribute to the uniqueness of Lacy’s sound, Centazzo admits he was somewhat at a loss of where to enter the conversation. Nonetheless, through Lacy’s guidance of telling him to “play what you feel”, Centazzo has defined his artistic life, playing what he feels and what he hears in every situation...


Play What You Feel Michael McCaw (AllAboutJazz.com) It is a common adage that true artisans know no boundaries be it borders or styles, and while such labels are often applied to musicians around the world performing music in a variety of genres, few have transversed as much artistic ground as Andrea Centazzo. So much so that what you have in your hands only represents a portion of the multitude of Centazzo the musician. However, this portion holds massive weight compared to most catalogs. Comprised of duos, trios, orchestras and numerous configurations in between featuring musicians like Steve Lacy, Anthony Coleman, Evan Parker, John Zorn, Tom Cora, John Carter, Gianluigi Trovesi, Derek Bailey, and the Rova Saxophone Quartet among others; the music here is immediate whether recorded 1976 or 2005. An original if nothing else, Centazzo is always forging new sounds and new associations. It is easy to look at his resume and see the output from free jazz to orchestral works to installation pieces and say he is an eclectic mind, but to really reveal the sound the man permeates is to truly listen to him in a purely musical context regardless of the grouping of musicians around him. Consistently learning and redefining his own role, to hear a musician retain and develop this identity amidst varying formats is a constant pleasure, and one in abundance here. No one comes to these ends immediately with out trials and tribulations. Of learning how to develop a language between cohorts, and Centazzo is aware of this himself. Attempting to figure out what Lacy desired of him nearly thirty years ago, of how to contribute to the uniqueness of Lacy’s sound, Centazzo admits he was somewhat at a loss of where to enter the conversation. Nonetheless, through Lacy’s guidance of telling him to “play what you feel”, Centazzo has defined his artistic life, playing what he feels and what he hears in every situation... more...
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