January 11, 2021

Armaroli/Schiaffini/Sjöström

Duos & Trios
Leo Records CD LR 892

Conny Bauer/Matthias Bauer/Dag Magnus Narvesen

The Gift

NoBusiness Records NBLP 135

Trombone-oriented, but not trombone centred, these trio discs demonstrate the versatility of the sackbut as well as depicting its synergy with other distinctive instruments. Yet the trombones played by veteran European Free musicians are placed in antithetical sonic situations.

Known for his work in the bands Zentralquartett and Doppelmoppel, German Conny Bauer is joined on The Gift by his brother bassist Matthias Bauer as well as Norwegian drummer Dag Magnus Narvesen who has worked with many musicians, including Finnish saxophonist Harri Sjöström, who is featured on Duos & Trios. Someone who has played with Cecil Taylor as well as Matthias Bauer, Sjöström’s duo partner is Italian vibraphonist Sergio Armaroli, associated with Alvin Curran and others. Veteran trombonist Giancarlo Schiaffini makes this a trio on three tracks. Schiaeffini, who like Armaroli moves between notated and improvised music, was part of the Italian Instabile Orchestra. MORE

May 7, 2018

Curran/Schiaffini/C. Neto/Armaroli

From The Alvin Curran Fakebook
Dodicilune Dischi Ed 886

By Ken Waxman

Turning the use of a “fakebook” on its head, instead of improvising on famous standards’ lead sheets, Rome-based American composer Alvin Curran and his Italian associates use 13 of Curran’s composition as the basis for creativity. Known for his pioneering electro-acoustic soundscapes for Musica Elettronica Viva, Curran, plus trombonist Giancarlo Schiaffini, multi-reedist Alipio C Neto, vibist/percussionist Sergio Armaroli, bassist Marcello Testa and drummer Nicola Stranieri create two-CDs of music that sounds both aleatory and arranged. MORE

December 11, 2016

Sergio Armaroli Trio with Giancarlo Schiaffini

Micro and More Exercises
Dodicilune Dischi Ed 360

By Ken Waxman

Like friends who should be made for one another but avoid hooking-up, improvised and New music have grow closer recently, but rarely mesh. Yet the Italian stylists here show how handily this could be done. Percussionist Sergio Armaroli and trombonist Giancarlo Schiaffini consistently move between those genres, and assisted by bassist Marcello Testa and drummer Nicola Stranieri put their stamp on 19 Microexercises composed by Christian Wolff, and six extended pieces by Schiaffini. Member of the New York School, Wolff also had improv experience working with the AMM band. Commissioned to write pieces with fewer than 100 notes, Wolff’s bagatelles leave open instrumentation, ensemble size, playing order, transposition and dynamics. Schiaffini’s compositions reflect his background as a pioneer free music player and collaborator with Scelsi, Nono and Cage. MORE