577 records / usa

Executive producer: Federico Ughi

577 records has been producing creative music since 2001 releasing CDs featuring the work of legendary artists such as: William Parker, Daniel Carter, Steve Swell, Sabir Mateen, Steve Dalachinsky and younger up and coming musicians including Matt Lavelle, Federico Ughi, Nathan Hanson and Matthew Heyner (from guerilla subway concert group TEST).

This grassroots, community focused independent label got its start with the living room concerts that founder Federico Ughi gave in his Brooklyn home, a classic New York art set up. As a young musician having just arrived in New York, Ughi wanted to create an intimate venue to showcase the creative music he had come to play. The name of the label was taken from the address of the house where these concerts first took place (577 Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn, New York).

With the enthusiasm and support of many artists these events started building in audience. People traveled from Manhattan, New Jersey and farther away to see Downtown’s music heroes, such as Daniel Carter and Steve Dalachinsky, Tom Abbs and many others, performing.

577 RECORDS has now moved from its original location but has preserved its spirit and purpose: supporting and working within a community that has proven to be one of the best arenas for creative music and art.

All About Jazz summed it up: “577 Records is putting out some of the most interesting improvised music today.”

The 577 Records Catalogue

PROPHECIES COME TO PASS
Sabir Mateen’s Shapes, Textures and Sound Ensemble

Sabir Mateen: Tenor and Alto Saxophones, Flute, Bb and Alto Clarinets
Matt Lavelle: Trumpet, Pocket Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Cornet
Steve Swell: Trombone
Matthew Heyner: Bass
Michael T.A. Thompson: Drums and Percussion

All music by Sabir Mateen
Recorded at Zebulon, Brooklyn, New York
Date: September 22nd 2005
Release: June 2006
Total CD time 72:41

Photograph: Federico Ughi

Prophecies Come to Pass is the debut recording of Sabir Mateen’s compositions by his group The Shapes, Textures, and Sound Ensemble. Recorded live in Brooklyn in September 2005, the CD was edited by Mateen and Swell and mastered under Mateen’s direction. It’s dedicated to the late great Raphe Malik, who at one time played with the group.

The ensemble is composed of an impressive roster of creative musicians: Mateen on saxes, flute, and clarinets; Matt Lavelle on trumpet, flugelhorn and cornet; Steve Swell on trombone; Matthew Heyner on bass; and Michael T.A. Thompson on drums and percussion. With musicians this strong, you simply can’t go wrong: they have decades of experience under their belts, and they’re guided by the venerable Mateen, one of the modern masters of creative music.

The highlights include “Sekasso Blues,” a wonderful mix of classic blues imbued with the group’s completely modern sensibility. The front line of Mateen, Lavelle and Swell is red-hot here, and the song is a delight of old and new structures playing together freely. “The Beauty Within” is a treat for the ears: Mateen plays strong and lovely flute, and there’s a great duet between Heyner and Thompson. “Prophecies Come to Pass,” an eighteen-minute epic poem, allows all the musicians to shine as they explore the point of breakdown/breakthrough. The horns are majestic and powerful, often reaching spine-tingling heights, and there are more Heyner and Thompson duets.

What makes this music so compelling is that the musicians are not afraid to explore primal depths of sound and energy. Their commitment and passion is inspiring—no one in this group is living a life of quiet desperation. The music points to life lived fully, with all its questions, struggles and heights.by Florence Wetzel – All About Jazz New York, July 2006

THE DREAM
Daniel Carter, William Parker, Federico Ughi

Daniel Carter: Alto and Tenor Sax, Clarinet, Trumpet, flute
William Parker: Bass, Tuba, Shakuhachi
Federico Ughi: Drums

Recorded in Brooklyn, New York
Date: July 22nd 2005
Release: March 2006
Total CD time 69:58

Photograph: Federico Ughi

577 Records is putting out some of the most interesting improvised music today, and The Dream is yet another high quality offering. Featuring the trio of Daniel Carter, William Parker and Federico Ughi, the CD is an embarrassment of riches, bursting with music of great imagination played with the highest skill and intention.

Carter and Parker are mainstays of improvised music, and Carter is one of the most important instrumentalists on the avant garde scene. It hardly seems possible for one person to excel on so many instruments, yet Carter does so with ease - an ease that comes only from decades of hard work. The Dream includes the rare treat of Carter playing piano, and he shines particularly on This is the Dream; his playing is forceful and crystalline, his runs intricate and rollicking, with Parker and Ughi matching him every step of the way.

Other notable songs include Little Did I Know, where Carter starts with a gentle flute, then gradually turns up the heat and at the very end switches to sax, his tone clear as a bell. The Truth in the Core, which features Parker on tuba and Carter’s wild, wailing sax, is also memorable. On the lovely Spiritual Awakening, Carter plays trumpet, invoking Miles at first and then developing his own urgent message, complimented by Ughis rhythmic stickwork.

The Dream has a wonderful cohesiveness, and its the kind of CD that gets into your bones the more you listen. The fourteen pieces vary in length, several barely grazing two minutes, but they roll effortlessly one after another, shifting instruments and colors with absolutely no loss of fluidity. The result is a pleasing quilt of sounds, textures and moods that’s well worth exploring.By Florence Wetzel, May 22nd 2006 All About Jazz

That’s right, Carter plays piano on this date! It’s the first thing heard as this disc kicks immediately into definite but mature overdrive. It’s a blast to hear William Parker, bassist for Cecil Taylor’s much-lauded Feel Trio, free-walking under Carter’s percussive attacks, certainly indebted to Taylor but even more pointalistic. The case is made on “Zero Softly”, a spare minimalist musing where notes hang in the air like galaxies only to fade beneath Federico Ughi’s carpet of brushwork. Indeed many of the tracks fade in and out, more like dreams in that conclusion are uncertain, if they exist at all.

The program is astonishing in its breadth and scope and this trio keeps each tracks fresh throughout with sudden instrument switches. Check out “Notorious”, with its proto-swing suddenly slowing down as Parker jumps from bass to tuba, sliding effortlessly into the dialogue.

Group interaction is fantastic throughout, without a weak combination in evidence here. It’s especially nice to hear Ughi is a more traditional context, combining the timbral savvy of Tony Oxley with the controlled power of Rashied Ali. The assumption is that the pieces were taken from larger improvisations and word is that there will be a second volume issued from this session. If it is equally edited and programmed, it will certainly be worth the wait! by Marc Medwin – All About Jazz New York, April 2006

I caught Italian-born, downtown-based drummer, Federico Ughi, play in two sets at the Stone last Saturday (4/1/06) and I must admit that he really knocked me out at both sets. He just might be downtown’s best under-recognized jazz drummer at present. The first set featured his new trio with Daniel Carter and William Parker, check out their fantastic new disc on 577 Records. On the second set, they added Eri Yamamoto on piano & Anders Nilsson on guitar and they sounded quite a bit like early 70’s Miles electric records. BLG NEWSLETTER FOR APRIL 7TH, 2006

CONCRETE SCIENCE
Daniel Carter, Steve Swell, Federico Ughi

Daniel Carter: Alto and Tenor Sax, Flute and Clarinet
Steve Swell: Trombone
Federico Ughi: Drums

Recorded in Brooklyn, New York
Date: June 9th, 2003
Release: December 2004
Total CD time 61:01

Photographs: Federico Ughi

Featuring the ever-present Daniel Carter on alto & tenor saxes, flute & clarinet. Steve Swell on trombone and Federico Ughi on drums. This is the sixth fine release from Italian-born, Brooklyn-based drummer Federico Ughi, who started on Slam and now runs his own 577 Records. He’s done a solo disc, duos with saxists & with poet Steve Dalachinsky and then a couple of discs with Daniel Carter, downtown reeds & horn legend that has played with just about everyone, no matter what their background or genre is, appearing on a dozen discs in the past couple of years.

This marvelous trio also features the amazing trombone of Steve Swell who seems to really get around in a large of bands & projects, will upwards of ten CDs in the CIMP/Cadence labels alone. This is high-end improv, this trio moves together just right, swirling around one another, intensely concentrating and combining forces. Building to a fury, bending notes around each other and eventually exploding, yet always listening as they combine forces. Although there is no bassist present or needed, there is indeed a fine balance between three strong spirits working together as one solid force.

All three get a chance to solo and show off their unique talents, and each digs deep in the well of creativity to unleash their inner forces/spirits. Federico does a fine job of balancing the trio without pushing too hard so that they rarely go over the top into screamsville. All in all, quite an impressive trio. by BLG (Downtown Music Gallery), January 2005

Concrete Science is not a stiff, cerebral test of complex music. It is the natural unfettered dialogue between masterful improvisers – saxophonist Daniel Carter, trombonist Steve Swell and drummer Federico Ughi. Though cerebral in that concentration is necessary to improvise at the lofty levels captured here, the music never sounds forced or wonky.

The brisk 17-minute workout “Now And Ever Resistance” is a high-intensity, uptempo piece with swirling horns that Ughi punctuates with stabbing cymbals and rolling drums. As on the rest of the CD, no one overpowers the proceedings and the players comment as they please. The crisp recording, with the horns panned in the mix, allows the listener to readily identify what each musician plays – helpful given the extended techniques and rapidity of notes. “Soul’s Underwood Tunnels” explores more spacious and introspective terrains, with quieter dynamics provided by Carter’s flute and Swell’s mute. The movement is sparse, thought the two horns match wits with unison stops and starts, effectively injecting space and illuminating the players’ synchronicity.

Blasting density resumes on “Middleclass Madness”, though the piece devolves into hushed tones, with Ughi laying out for a stretch. When he returns, the piece builds a startling crescendo to a bombastic conclusion. “Our Own Fingerprints” and “Concrete Science” test opposite ends of the spectrum: the former features a fleet Swell run with drum accompaniment and a blistering Carter clarinet; the latter closes the CD somberly with atmospheric textures and some warm, sustained unison tones.
With the uncommon sax-bone-drums lineup, the results are solid and disciplined, perhaps Concrete Science after all.By Sean Fitzell, All About Jazz, New York, February 2005

SOUTH OF BROOKLYN
Federico Ughi’s Options

Matt Glassmeyer: Tenor Saxophone, Misc. Sounds
Nathan Hanson: Tenor Saxophone, Electronics
Sean Moran: Guitar
Dan Fabricatore: Acoustic Bass
Federico Ughi: Drums
Daniel Carter: Alto Saxophone on 4 tracks

All music by Federico Ughi
Recorded in Brooklyn, New York
Date: January 4th, 2003
Release: May 2003
Total CD time 59:21

Photograph: Federico Ughi

There are an increasing number of young Italian jazz players that decide to spend a period of time in the United States to refine their musical skills and revel in the musical climate of New York which offers more stimulation for the fledgling musician than many European Cities.

Many of these musicians return to Italy after having matured in the most credited schools and clubs of New York with plans for making it in the increasingly competitive jazz world. However, some choose a harder but certainly more rewarding path, settling in the States and creating their musical identity there. This is the case for Federico Ughi, a drummer with Roman roots, who after a period of playing be-bop in London at a very young age, moved to New York in the year 2000. There he entered the most interesting and prolific avant-garde music scene that operates in venues such as the Knitting Factory and CBGB.

Ughi is responsible for having brought Daniel Carter to Italy a few years ago. Carter is a multi-instrumentalist, legendary figure of today’s Afro-American music scene and a recording companion of Matthew Shipp and William Parker.

Now Ughi returns to Europe with his latest project, the quintet “Options”. They have recently released the album “South Of Brooklyn”, for the label 577 Records, in which we find Carter once again as a special guest. As in previous occasions his tour that goes through Milan, Rome, San Marino and Slovenia, reaches our region, stopping tonight in Bolzano at Hopfen’s.

In the music presented by Ughi and the quintet, a solid compositional structure prevails. The compositions are from the prolific pen of the drummer himself. In these tunes he shows progressive rock and free jazz influences, with a strong and articulate taste for melodic matches.The line-up that completes the quintet consists of two saxophones (Matt Glassmeyer and Nathan Hanson), the guitar player Sean Moran and the double bass player Dan Fabricatore.G.Se. - Alto Adige, Italy, January 22nd 2004

Federico Ughi and his band have worked together for a few years. The combination of these musicians is energetic and reflects the NYC scene of today, made up of improvisation, free jazz, creativity and research. After moving from London to New York, Federico Ughi, a free-style drummer has documented his work with the label 577 Records (www.577records.com).

Daniel Carter, who has always played in Ughi’s music projects appears in the last four album’s tracks. The real novelty of this recording is the “Options”. These are the many harmonic, rhythmic and artistic personalities of the album: while “Never There” is more funky, “Slight” is more rarefied with its three saxes soloing together. The electric guitar is played by Sean Moran in a free style that combines his rock approach with a jazz sensibility. The results are clear sounds that go hand in hand with both the most elaborate parts of the compositions and also the improvisations. The final result is an extremely pleasing record that unfolds piece by piece. A must see concert!Il Macello, San Marino, January 2004

After relocating from London, England to New York City in 2000, Italian free-style drummer Federico Ughi hit his stride, documenting his work on his own record label, 577 Records, which features his compositions and groups. Daniel Carter, with whom Ughi is closely associated, appears on the final four tracks of this album, but what distinguishes the album are the “options” (taken from the name of the group) and eclecticism of the approaches pursued. Bringing together mostly little known sidemen, the drummer achieves some dramatic effects that are thankfully devoid of common clichés, making this a fascinating entree to Ughi’s world.

For example, the funky “Never There” punches with a deliciously upbeat verve, and could be confused with something a bit more commercial, while “Slight” is almost atmospheric with its slow tempo draped by three saxophonists. Electric guitarist Sean Moran plays a critical role throughout, with his hard-laced solos blending a rock sensibility with a free aesthetic. Ughi seems less concerned with the usual strategies of Free Jazz, although much of what he writes falls in that genre, than with the integration of improvisation and composition in a seamless unit that meshes melodic abstraction with sophisticated writing. There is not a weak voice in evidence, with group improvisation a common element.

The saxes lock horns but never trip over one another, and if the guitar seems to occasionally solo without regard to context, he is always interesting. In the end, it is clearly Ughi’s game, with the drummer nudging, cajoling, and pushing the limits, careful not to go over the edge. By including ambient pieces such as “White,” which could have come from Bill Frisell, Ughi lets it known that his vision is broad enough to encompass a wide palette. Steven Loewy, All Music Guide, August 2003

I THOUGHT IT WAS THE END OF THE WORLD …
Steve Dalachinsky & Federico Ughi

Steve Dalachinsky - Words
Federico Ughi - Drums, voice and live sampling

All words by Steve Dalachinsky
All music by Federico Ughi
Recorded live at
the Knitting Factory, New York City
Date: November 12th, 2001
Release: August 2002
Total CD time 35:42
Photograph: Federico Ughi

A year later, and the number ‘two’ still carries with it a tinge of horror in New York City. Two parallel lines, two events in succession, two become none. On his new CD, New York poet and frequent improv collaborator Steve Dalachinsky never even mentions the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001. The cover is a photo of seagulls flying against a plane of blue, not a shot of destruction and devastation. But while the city’s wound is healing, it’s still tender.

The title - the suggestion that the world ended twice - like the paranoiac strains within - don’t need to spell out terror in order to explore it. The thirty-minute suite is actually about vulnerability, albeit at a sensitive time. Dalachinsky has a good ear, and knows how to build a piece like a good jazz soloist, how to state the theme and when to return to it. But with a quiet percussion soundscape behind, the themes are not notes but rather words: “I know they’re trying to rob my soul/they know the combination to my lock,”"It’s a good life if you don’t kill it,”"I placed a phone call to the future, but it didn’t answer,”"It’s been nothing/nothing since the beginning of the game/I was ready to get out of here and then this happened.” Like a good jazz solo, the sentiments are clear unless you think about them too much.

Dalachinsky is known for his work with the best of New York’s jazz and creative improv community. His earlier Knitting Factory release included Susie Ibarra, Thurston Moore, Matthew Shipp, and Daniel Carter, among numerous others. Such projects work because the poet knows how to leave plenty of room for his collaborators. Drummer and electronicist Federico Ughi is a different kind of foil, however. Rather than a jazzy state-theme-solo-and-vamp construction, Ughi creates quiet but effective washes behind the poet’s words, and puts occasional live effects to Dalachinsky’s voice, adding to the drama without getting in the way. The result is two artists working on an even plane, creating a single, evocative work.by Kurt Gottschalk, Signal To Noise, Winter 2003

New York-based poet Steve Dalachinsky (words) collaborates with Federico Ughi (d, vcl, live sampling) on I THOUGHT IT WAS THE END OF THE WORLD AND THEN THE END OF THE WORLD HAPPENED AGAIN (577 Records 577-3). It’s a set of seven somber poems recorded live at the Knitting Factory. It’s obvious that most of these poems are a response to the horror and the stupidity that happened on and since September 11, 2001. (The only exception would be “The Submarine Kyrsk” which is a meditation on the Russian submarine that sank in the Arctic earlier that year.)

Surprisingly they’re read in a mostly calm voice – no hysterics. The poems inter-relate, with repeated phrases cropping up in various sections. But within this calm, his observations and feelings about the events and their aftermaths are conveyed with strength and passion. Ughi’s accompaniment is equally subtle: lots of low rumbling drums with light cymbal taps and the occasional use of sampling (thankfully not overused). On the final version of the title track, Ughi comes to the fore with a lengthy solo passage consisting of drums, what sounds like an electronic drone, and his voice. It is one of the highlights of the disc. This not light listening; on the contrary, it is a strong document that shows how the relevance and power of the spoken word can convey the horror of the event far better that can any shallow documentary shown on television hosted by your favorite anchor person.by Robert Iannapollo, Cadence Magazine, April 2003

Mr. Dalachinsky is a local wordsmith, poet, performer, mc and an integral part of and friend to the Downtown scene. Mr. Ughi is a fine percussionist and sampler player, who comes from Italy, has lived in England and has come to NYC to collaborate with different musicians over the past few years.

Federico’s first release was duos with different British sax players; his second was a fine duo with the ubiquitous local reeds and horn hero - Daniel Carter. This is his third duo(s) effort.

Steve is also a close friend of mine, a kindred spirit and live music junky like many of us who can’t miss that important gig. This CD was recorded live at the Knit in November of last year. I love Steve’s words because they come close to explaining or illustrating the passion, frustration and insanity of life in this ridiculous scene.

Federico consistently does a fine job of providing and matching Steve’s ongoing story with subtle drums and suspenseful sampled sonics. Sometimes Steve is a disembodied head searching for his body, in which Federico selects just right to sample to repeat in the distance. Although I’ve heard Steve read many of these poems on a few different occasions, they still sound fresh as they reveal a different layer of meaning each time we hear them. Both Steve and Federico work well together, anticipating each other’s moves, shifting emotion and scrutiny of the never-ending struggle to make some sense of these often confusing times.

The cover consists of the backs of birds gliding in the blue sky above Coney Island, free and floating on the wind. Federico uses minimal percussive sounds and samples in an ultra selective way, just as occasional punctuation for Steve’s stories and observations. The final piece is one in which his somber percussive fragments are woven with eerie sampled vocal drones and Steve discusses the “end of the world” for the second and final time.Downtown Music Gallery, NYC. August 2002

ULERS TWO
Federico Ughi

Federico Ughi - Drums, voice, live sampling and live editing

All music by Federico Ughi
Recorded live at 577, Brooklyn, New York
Date: August 14th, 2001
Release: February 2002
Total CD time 64:08

Photograph: Federico Ughi

Art is where you find it, and drummer Federico Ughi found it in the streets an piazzas, on the bridges, and inside the churches of Rome. On ULERS TWO (577 Records 577-2), he recorded the sounds of ordinary human activities at landmark sites of the Eternal City, including street noises, auto and motorbike movement, casual conversation, bird chirping, and any other sound that happened to be audible. When back in Brooklyn, he added drums, live sampling, unrehearsed live editing, and voice as an overlay to these day-to-day signs of living (Piazza S. Cosimato & Piazza S. Maria in Trastevere / Vicolo Del Cinque & Ponte Sisto / Campo de’ Fiori & Piazza Navona / Castel S. Angelo & Via Alberico II; 8/14/01).

The concept of adapting the rhythms of life to the rhythms of music is certainly an ambitious and innovative concept…when Ughi moves into a more ambitious state of drumming/sampling and overpowers the street scene, it becomes an advanced form of creative expression. He sustains the momentum with gongs, cymbals, and astute sampling, establishing a state of high energy matching the bustling activity of Rome. It certainly is an unusual recording.Frank Rubolino, Cadence Magazine, August 2002

ASTONISHMENT
Federico Ughi & Daniel Carter

Federico Ughi - Drums, voice and live sampling
Daniel Carter - Saxophones, trumpet, flute and clarinet

All music by Federico Ughi and Daniel Carter
Recorded in Queens, New York
Date: March 16th, 2001
Release: June 2001
Total CD time 45:29

Photograph: Federico Ughi

This CD documents the Italian musician’s activity in New York. He plays drums, uses his voice and works with sampling live sounds while next to him operates one of the most interesting instrumentalists of the Big Apple, Daniel Carter (he was recently touring in Italy) that plays saxophones, clarinet, trumpet and flute. The music is created as an “on the spot” composition by the two musicians and moves mainly horizontally; the tunes, played over spread and rich spaces, but always edgy somehow, combine the sound of muted trumpet with the high pitches of the cymbals, reeds phrasings with live samplings, the language of free music with a relaxing vibe close to cool. “Astonishment” is an absolutely perfect title that concentrates the dimension of surprise, dream but also enquiry of the album’s six pieces. 6/7
Luigi Onori, Alias No. 08, Il Manifesto, February 23rd 2002

Astonishment: the title may sound pretentious but for once it is well deserved. Federico Ughi and Daniel Carter’s CD surprises and charm. Both players are well accustomed to free improvising, but their take on the genre is here a lot more atmospheric than one would expect. Carter alternates mainly between his trumpet and alto saxophone (a touch of flute or clarinet here and there too). His short, pensive trumpet lines recall Bill Dixon. His reed playing can be a little more gutsy but things rarely escalate over the whisper. Ughi mainly uses soft mallets, tickling the cymbals, less playing the drums than letting them release their inner vibrations. He also sings long, delicate notes he samples live to accumulate.

The resulting music is dreamy, cloudy, surprisingly quiet and gentle for a free improv session. One thinks of Ben Monder’s albums with Theo Bleckmann (the two voices also share similarities), of some of Pauline Oliveros’ pieces, or of some strange, otherworldly world music — Astonishment emits ritualistic, incantatory vibes. Singling out a particular track would not do justice to the other ones, since they all share a similar mood and seem interconnected in a unique musical vision.

This CD could be used as an entry point for someone interested in free improvisation. Wrapped up in the music you hardly notice the absence of a script until you focus your attention on either player. To be listened to with eyes close, after a particularly stressful day. Strongly recommended.François Couture, All-Music Guide. January 2002

The remarkably versatile Daniel Carter… partners with drummer Federico Ughi on the too short Astonishment to highlight a subdued though no less creative, side to his playing. Carter has to be one of the most talented underground improvisers around. He manages to show up everywhere, but has somehow managed to maintain a low profile. One of the very few who can play brass and reeds well, he distinguishes himself by his tasteful freestyle blowing that rarely lights the big fire, but almost always leaves the listener with the impression that he has heard something different and, sometimes, even important.

For this album, both he and Ughi focus on slow tempos and low volumes - not to the extent of, say, AMM, but nonetheless enough so that the results are noticeably different than most freely improvised products. What Ughi and Carter achieve is difficult as they maintain an even keel without succumbing to banalities. On muted trumpet, Carter sounds a bit like late 1960s Miles, lyrical and probing. On his saxophone, on which he is clearly more comfortable, Carter resists technical bravura, and instead lets his horns speak fluidly. Ughi is a splendid conversationalist and an even better landscape artist. On “Looking Forward”, for example, his voice followed by sampling lays a lovely carpet over which Carter blows wistfully.

The pattern continues throughout the recording. While it would be difficult for most players to maintain listener interest in this sort of low-test improvisation for any extended period, Carter and Ughi somehow manage to do so in every piece. On clarinet, Carter exudes a warmth; on trumpet an upbeat lyricism; and on saxophones, a comfortable command. Confounding established stereotypes and perhaps expectations, Ughi and Carter flip-flop the Coltrane-Ali paradigm to successfully pursue a gentler but compelling path - one in which timbre, shading, and space, and what is left unsaid are as important as other criteria. The fruits are unusual but just as tasty.Steven Loewy, Cadence Magazine, Vol 27, No. 12, December 2001

In the most esoteric New York music scene Daniel Carter is a legend: rarely compromising, he has made improvisation and total freedom of expression his belief. This has brought him, beyond collaborations with famous names like Cecil Taylor, Sam Rivers and William Parker, to the choice of performing in New York streets. This certainly hasn’t helped him achieve broad fame in Europe.

Therefore credit is due to Federico Ughi, a drummer from Rome active for the last three years in the New York avant-guarde scene, for bringing him over on an Italian tour that went to Rome, Viterbo and Vicenza as well as Ora and Pergine. The duet presents the results of a few months of intense work, which flourished last March with the recording of the album “Astonishment”. In these concerts in our region the two musicians have traveled roads of thoughtful and pure lyricism, where delicate detail and timbre differentiation have a major role. Ughi’s drums are completely absorbed and immersed in Carter’s spontaneous musical construction. He avoids vain virtuosities in favor of an intense approach, controlled in dynamics and floating in rhythmic movements. He is looking for the variety of colors, the vibration of metals and the whisper of skins; he creates dense landscapes also using his voice and live samplings.

Carter, alternating the various instruments of his expressive world, builds a special dimension with each of them, navigating long sequences with an approach that reminds us of Sam Rivers, and that because of his original gestural character makes him close to a shaman. On clarinet he creates warm moods, mellow and intimate ; the flute is intense, surrounding and moves like a dancer ; the trumpet, often muted, builds precise cutting lines ; the tenor saxophone is harsh and sinuous, the alto nervous and edgy. He approaches each instrument with different gestures and movements that not only accompany the music but seem to make music out of the fusion between body and spirit.

Surely, the concept is not easy to approach and requires a certain attention and concentration that is not often reachable in a crowded space, but even so it is touching in its spontaneous strength, its poetic belief and its powerful and completely absorbing dialogue.Alto Adige (Italy). Giuseppe Segala. June 18th, 2001

The most curious jazz fans, those who are willing to be captured by challenging but fully surprising musical adventures, have taken down Daniel Carter’s name. He is a saxophonist, flautist and trumpeter who is currently very active. Carter has recently recorded with pianist Matthew Shipp, bass player William Parker and trumpet player Roy Campbell. His musical path has crossed those of many other musicians, including Sun Ra, Cecil Taylor, Sam Rivers and Butch Morris, names that underline a special approach to music, where freedom of expression represents an essential ingredient.

The opportunity to hear him in a duet with a drummer is therefore one of the most suitable settings in which to catch his expansive energy and soloistic clarity. Carter is in Italy this week with the drummer Federico Ughi to present the most recent album under the drummer’s name, a duet called “Astonishment”.

Born in Rome, the 29 year old drummer, who deepened his knowledge of improvised music with Paul Bley, moved to London in 1994 where he played with many musicians, including Geoff Simkins and Steve Buckley, and worked with different bands including After Breakfast, heard in this area a few years ago.

His subsequent move to New York has brought him to collaborate with American creative music artists, such as Carter and Steve Dalachinsky. He often favors duet formula and this meeting with Carter puts him in touch with an ideal partner, able to face the most diverse settings with endless creativity.

The tour of this duet will include dates in different Italian cities such as Rome, Vicenza and Viterbo, and they will be in Ora next Saturday June 16th, and in Pergine on Sunday 17th. Alto Adige (Italy). g.se. June 14th, 2001.