| Monday 19 May, 21:00 | Teatro Comunale di Vicenza - Sala del Ridotto | Buy ticketBuy |
After thirty-five years of activity (1989-2024), full of records, concerts, prizes and recognitions, in which - especially in the first two decades of the 2000s - it has long stood out as a point of reference in the Italian and international panorama of medium bands, the Lydian Sound Orchestra changes its skin and from 2025 becomes "Lydian New Call".
Riccardo Brazzale, historic director, composer and main arranger of the group, also known for his work as a scholar, teacher and promoter, has totally re-founded the ensemble with a new call that involved a dozen young musicians, all already individually started on quality paths.
The repertoire, substantially new and original, will take inspiration, as in the history of Lydian, from references from the last century, both classical and jazz and contemporary languages.
The Vicenza concert is a national preview; the first will then be held in mid-June at the Casa del Jazz in Rome, on the occasion of the recording of the new CD for Parco della Musica Records.
The Lydian New Call line up is focused on the thirty-something generation.
Gaia Mattiuzzi (vocals), Manuel Caliumi (alto & soprano sax), Giovanni Fochesato (tenor & soprano sax), Giulia Barba (baritone sax & bass clarinet), Michele Tedesco (trumpet & live electronics), Glauco Benedetti (tuba & valve trombone), Marcello Abate (guitar), Nazareno Caputo (vibraphone), Salvatore Maiore (cello), Federica Michisanti (double bass), Bernardo Guerra (drums), Riccardo Brazzale (conductor, arrangements, piano)
In the history of jazz, there is a kind of separate history and it is that of South African jazz, which was formed and developed especially in the 1960s. At a certain point, the names of musicians involved in that sort of movement, naturally also associated with the fights for civil rights, are many, especially among those who, several decades ago, had to emigrate to Europe, particularly to London. But a reference name has always been that of Abdullah Ibrahim. Yet only in a few years has jazz made, learned and played in South Africa returned to having its own identity thanks to artists who are intimately and firmly South African. Like Nduduzo Makhatini (1882) who stubbornly knew how to merge what he learned in regular studies at Durban University with the cultural legacy of the history of the Kingdom of the Zulu, who became known in the West only after the wars against British colonialism. The music that comes from Makhatini's piano trio is therefore markedly very personal and anomalous, compared to the more typical currents of jazz: Blue Note Records also noticed this and released his album in 2020
“Modes of Communication: Letters from the Underworld”, immediately hailed as one of the most significant jazz records of the year; “In the Spirit of Ntu” (2022) and “uNomkhubulwane” (2024) followed. In Vicenza it will be interesting to follow his path, in that small separate calendar which will also be completed this year by many pianists.
Nduduzo Makhathini, piano
