Andrea Rinciari Quartet
Soho Sessions
by Howard Lawes

Andrea Riciari was born in Italy and lived in Sagrete, a suburban town to the east of Milan. Sagrete may be best known for the Idroscalo, an artificial lake that was created as a seaplane terminal in 1930 and is now used for watersports and is the location of Europark Idroscalo amusement park. During his teenage years Andrea acquired a guitar, which he admits became a complete obsession.  Talking to Andrea via Zoom he described how he used to wake at 5 a.m., practice for 2 hours before going to school and then practice until midnight after he got home again.

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Andrea met Levi Clay, a guitar tutor, through the International Guitar Foundation, and in discovering the music of Wes Montgomery he moved away from the heavy metal and rock that he had been playing towards jazz.  Andrea believed that there would be greater opportunities for establishing a career in music if he moved to London which he did in 2014.  He spent a year at the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (ICMP) before specialising in jazz guitar and moving to Trinity Laban Conservatoire where his guitar tutors included Hannes Riepler.  He remembers these days in London with great affection and describes his time at the conservatoire as an absolute blast.

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Andrea cites Barry Harris as another inspirational educator and mentor who helped him enormously. Harris was an American pianist and US National Endowment for Arts Jazz Master who embraced the bebop style and was much inspired by Thelonius Monk and Bud Powell.  Harris had been visiting London regularly for gigs and public workshops since 2002, teaching jazz harmony, improvisation and singing.  He popularised a particular scale that combines a major 6th chord with a diminished 7th chord, creating a unique set of melodic and harmonic possibilities. (A video describing Harris' chords is here).

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Andrea was a frequent participant in the famous late night jam sessions at Ronnie Scott’s jazz club which is where he met saxophonist Alex Garnett.  In Andrea’s opinion the jam session is the best way to learn to become a successful jazz musician.  While admitting that it can be challenging, particularly for a novice, he believes that it is ten times better to learn in a live session than to play for yourself in your bedroom.

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With Alex, Andrea secured a weekly residency at Soho’s Piano Bar that lasted for two years.  Arranging and performing music for 104 sessions created a portfolio that celebrates the music from a golden era of jazz. Andrea also plays regularly at Alfie’s Jazz Bar, another iconic Soho venue, and clearly enjoys being part of the Soho scene. Whether leading his own quartet or guesting with fellow club regulars, Andrea can be depended upon to liven up the evening with fast swing, tight phrasing, and the kind of musicianship that only comes from countless nights spent playing the real thing.

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Barry Harris introduced Andrea to the music of Bud Powell, music that Andrea has embraced with great enhusiasm and describes as profoundly beautiful, having incredible energy and great harmony.  Andrea’s favourite Bud Powell album is The Amazing Bud Powell, Volume 2 (1954) from which he has chosen the track, Polka Dots And Moonbeams, to perform as a solo on his Soho Sessions album.  Other tracks on the album recall Andrea’s favourite recordings, many from the bebop era, and his love of Soho.

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The track listing on Soho Sessions, with composer and original recording is:

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1. Bean and the Boys - Coleman Hawkins. (Recorded by Bud Powell on Piano Interpretations (1956)).

2. John’s Delight - John Collins. (Recorded by Tadd Dameron and his Orchestra (1949)).

3. Tea For Two - Vincent Youmans. (Recorded by Bud Powell on The Genius of Bud Powell (1956))F

4. I Can’t Get Started  - Vernon Duke. (Originally recorded by Bunny Berigan (1936)).

5. John’s Abbey - Bud Powell. (Recorded by Bud Powell on Time Waits (1958)).

6. Time To Smile - Freddie Redd. (Recorded by The Freddie Redd Quartet (1994)).

7. Carvin’ The Rock - Elmo Hope / Sonny Rollins. (Recorded by The Clifford Brown Quartet with Lou Donaldson (1954)).

8. Polka Dots And Moonbeams – Jimmy Van Heusen. (Recorded by Bud Powell on The Amazing Bud Powell, Volume 2 (1954). Further information about other recordings of this song may be found  here. 

 

The Quartet has Andrea Rinciari (guitar), Alex Garnett (tenor sax), Lorenzo Morabito (bass) and Mark Taylor (drums). Alex Garnett is a hugely respected musician who has had a long association with Ronnie Scott’s Club; Lorenzo Morabito is a long-term friend and collaborator while Mark Taylor is a renowned British drummer, who having worked in New York for 30 years met Andrea at the Piano Bar in London.

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Other reviewers have highlighted this album’s bebop credentials and of course this owes a lot to Alex Garnett’s saxophone which is the instrument that is probably most associated with the bebop era.  One of Andrea’s favourite tracks on the album is Tea For Two featuring a solo by Alex, but he also highlights the performances of Lorenzo Morabito on Time To Smile and Mark Taylor on Carvin’ The Rock.  Andrea’s solo performance of Polka Dots And Moonbeams is also outstanding and in truth there is a great deal to enjoy whether you are a bebop fan or not.

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Here they are with Time To Smile:​