Argento

To celebrate their silver anniversary, organetto diatonico wizard Riccardo Tesi and his longtime buddies, guitarist and singer Maurizio Geri, saxophonist Claudio Carboni and percussionist Gigi Biolcati, have summoned a blaze of musicians to join the feast. ‘Anar Passar’, featuring Occitan singer Jean-Marie Carlotti and Mauro Pagani on bouzouki, is a dramatic opener. The vivacious saltarello dance-led ‘Ciociaria’ follows. ‘Bradipo Re’ slowly builds in complexity with inventive orchestration. If ‘Giri’ is infused with Balkan odd tempos, Paolo Fresu's trumpet brings a dollop of jazz into the atmospheric ‘Polvere di Gesso’. For the instrumental ‘Donna Tita’, Tesi's stirring melodic sensibility takes the lead, whereas four of Italy's most esteemed female singers (Lucilla Galeazzi, Elena Ledda, Ginevra Di Marco and Luisa Cottifogli) star on the traditional ballad ‘Donna Guerriera’. Elsewhere, ‘Miniera’ is a tasty melodeon-based rearrangement of a canzone about Italian migration. Further elegant instrumentals include ‘Nordest’, featuring Kepa Junkera, and the tango-tinged ‘Puma’. Finally, ‘Il Bianco’ is a poetic song showcasing the core quartet.

Argento is a lush offering from creative fusionistas that intermingles Italian traditional music with soulful songs, sprinkled with Mediterranean and touches of jazz.