Gianni Basso

[JSngry]

Just now discovering this delightful Italian mainstream (I guess, labels get kinda blurry after a while) tenorist who's got a touch of Lockjaw in him (no tetanus jokes, please!), and was wondering who else was hip to him, what their impressions were, and what recommendations might be made as far as recordings.

Thanks!

[JohnJ]

Jim, I really enjoy his playing on Joe Lee Wilson's 'Ballads for Trane'. I picked up this CD last year as it was on sale for a mere $5 and it quickly became a favourite. If you like good vocal jazz then I cannot recommend this highly enough. I had never heard Joe Lee Wilson before and was very impressed. Basso's tenor sax playing is a bonus. It was released last year on the Italian Philology label.

[Chuck Nessa]

He was the best Italian jazz player I knew of in 1961.

[JSngry]

He was the best Italian jazz player I knew of in 1961.

I see that he was signed to Verve in those days.

I know next to nothing about the man or his music (obviously), but the AMG bio paints the picture of him as being somewhat of a "pioneer" of Italian modern jazz, so I guess he does go back a long way. The few things I've heard recently have all been from the last few years, and, frankly, I had him pegged as more of a Swing or post-Swing player (again, the labels begin to blur) along the lines of Guy Laffite, only smoother.

Whatever he is, he seems to be lacking in pretense. Nothing "heavy", but a gorgeous tone, a good swing, and, like I said, a Lockjaw-influenced phrasing at times (which is what really caught my ear, since that's such a rare thing to hear out of anybody). The cat can definitely play.

[mmilovan]

I like his sides with Dushko Goykovich, live, two of them fits perfectly well.

[Larry Kart]

A somewhat younger veteran Italian tenor man (he plays soprano too) who's worth a listen is Claudio Fasoli (b. 1939 -- Basso b. 1931). Fasoli lists his favorite players as Konitz and Shorter and is definitely his own man. I've got and like his "Lido" (Soul Note), with K.Drew, NHOP and B.Altschul, "Ten Tributes" (Ram) with K.Wheeler, M.Goodrick, H.Texier, and B.Elgart, and "Resume" (Musica Jazz), with various fellow Italians. Interesting composer, too.

[Peter F]

Gianni Basso has recently had some CDs issued on the Philology label. Here are the ones I have.

Blue Woods - Philology W252.2

Lush Life - Philology W263.2

Italian Balladeur - Philology W 156

Another CD that I very much enjoy is:

Gianni Basso & Guido Manusardi Trio - Live At Downtown - Splasc(h) 455.2

Peter F.

[Chuck Nessa]

I remember a Basso/Oscar Valdambrini record on Jazzland from high school. The cover was a bright yellow IIRC.

[Larry Kart]

I remember the same album Chuck does. At the time, at least for a while, I thought it featured one guy named Basso Valdambrini.

[clifford_thornton]

Wasn't there a Bernt Rosengren on Jazzland with the same bright-yellow jacket?

[slide_advantage_redoux]

Jim

When I was living in Germany, I played a fest in Tubingen at which Gianni was appearing. I had the honor of being asked by him to sit in with his quartet on the main stage. He was a very friendly cat....and he was swinging his ass off.

I believe he has a Horo release of his own. I know that he appears on Rosolino's Horo (albeit on just one cut).

I believe I still have his promo brochure stashed somewhere.

Great player.

[Bill Fenohr]

The bright yellow cover Jazzland was by The Werner-Rosnegren Swedish Jazz Quartet and titled Bombastica! To my knowledge Basso did not have a album issued on Jazzland.

[JSngry]

He did have one (or more?) out on Verve back then, though, didn't he?

[Bill Fenohr]

Yes on the Verve. It looks like there were two. One from June of 59 and the other from December of 59. Both are with Valdambrini, and Lars Gullin is on the December date.

I have never laid eyes on either album, so i dont know the titles.

[JSngry]

Up, 'cause I got a buddy who's been pumping me a lot of Basso lately, & I think he'd appeal to a lot of people here, the people who like "mainstream", swinging jazz that is what it is. The guy's got his own voice, swings hard (and real) and is totally without pretense.

I could almost call him Scott Hamilton w/o the baggage, except that Basso's old enough to be Hamilton's father, so comparisons might not be fair to either man.

[Dave James]

I was "pimping" Basso Valdambrini on the board a couple of weeks ago. They show up on Dusty Groove with a fair amount of regularity, but if you want a lot more to choose from, go the HMV Japan route. The best B-V I've come across is one called "The Best Modern Jazz in Italy, 1962. Here's a picture:

I also have the B-V LP with Lars Gullin, but I need to get a new cartridge for my TT before I play it. There are also a fair number of solo Gianni Basso efforts out there. A number of them can be had on iTunes.

Up over and out.

[JSngry]

From what I've been hearing, I prefer later/recent Basso to earlier by a reasonable margin, although indeed, it is all good. It's just that he's really mellowed into this rhythmic pocket that is pretty darn deep (in terms of "place", not of "profundity"), and I don't know but that it's not a function primarily of age.