Claudio Scolari, Synthesis

When you aren't sure what to expect, then what you get can be anything and not surprise you, I suppose. But in the case of Claudio Scolari's second offering, Synthesis (Principal 05), I was surprised anyway. One factor that is quite unusual about his Project (as he calls it) is the instrumentation. Claudio is on drums, percussion, electronics (synth/computer) and flute; Daniel Cavalca plays drums, vibes, piano, melodica and bass; and Simone Scolari plays trumpet.

What this means is that there is some very hot drumming, some very hip trumpet wielding, and then somewhere in the middle there is the overlap/center of each piece with electronics and percussive melodic motifs.

They may not be the only group doing this sort of thing (Mazurek etc.) but they do it well; they thoroughly build sound structures for each piece. They go many places in the course of the disk but the groove quotient and free quality consistently come together well to create some memorable moments. It's a testament to the multi-instrumental flexibility of Claudio and Daniele (and the prowess of Simone) that things do not falter. It's all refreshingly DIY, faux casual, but never amateurish. And it gets you listening and liking.

Call it contemporary. Then grab an earful!