Franco D’Andrea – Live

Believe it or not, Franco D’Andrea, veteran of Italian jazz piano—and jazz in general—had never recorded live in a club!

At the age of 83, he finally realized his dream, partly by chance, as his sets at the Torrione Jazz Club in Ferrara were recorded without his knowledge. This recording, made after numerous concerts by the trio, perfectly captures the warm atmosphere of a jazz club where D’Andrea and his companions enjoy themselves as much as the audience.

For us French people, listening to this magnificent two-CD recording can only make us regret that the transalpine pianist plays so little—if not never—in France. A little anecdote: a few years ago, I ran into Francoin the lobby of the Maison de la Radio in Paris. We greeted each other warmly, and I asked him where he was going to play. “No,” he said, “I’m not playing anywhere: I’m just here as a member of the jury for the Martial Solal piano competition.” No one had taken advantage of his visit to Paris to book him for a concert. Porcamiseria! as they say on the other side of the Alps.

But enough lamenting, we have these two CDs to console us. And they are two marvels that contain sixteen little gems of swing, melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic invention. It must be said that D’Andrea is accompanied by two impeccable musicians. Roberto Gatto is also a veteran of Italian jazz, and he and Franco have known each other for a long time. As for Gabriele Evangelista—who has been heard extensively in Enrico Rava’s bands—he is the youngest member of the trio but far from the least in terms of musicality.

Franco D’Andrea is a kind of living memory of jazz history, which he knows inside out: immortal standards, early blues, themes by Duke Ellington or Thelonious Monk (his idols, to whom he once dedicated several studio recordings) …

©Emilia De Leonardis / MUSA

He navigates this repertoire with incomparable ease, enthusiasm, and generosity, illuminating it with his refined touch and his unparalleled harmonic, rhythmic, and melodic inventiveness. Like his compatriot Enrico Rava and his late colleague Martial Solal, Franco is above all a jazz fan, whose history he has explored with passionate love, from W.C. Handy to John Coltrane and beyond. Far from being a traditionalist, D’Andreadisplays a resolutely modern style and gives these themes perfectly contemporary renditions, even including in his repertoire a pop theme from the 60s/70s such as Norwegian Wood by The Beatles.

We therefore immerse ourselves in this recital with supreme delight, enchanted by the mastery of a jazz piano great surrounded by two splendid accompanists who take as much pleasure in accompanying him as the audience and ourselves take in listening to them.