Andrea Centazzo

Andrea Centazzo ICTUS BOX SET has been nominated Best Box Set of 2006 by journalists of the American Jazz Critics Association “... As a whole, the ICTUS Records’ 30th Anniversary Collection is a fascinating compilation with hours of special moments.

It is an important, if not essential collection, featuring an incredible array of talent, and priced as an extraordinary value. Reflecting the tastes and performances of Italian composer and percussionist Andrea Centazzo, the 12- CD boxed set gloriously presents an eclectic and highly individual selection of free improvisation.”

Steven Loewy (CADENCE, January 2007)

Andrea Centazzo Mitteleuropa Orchestra Sort of like Braxton meets Xenakis meets Zappa!..

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Andrea Centazzo ICTUS BOX SET has been nominated Best Box Set of 2006 by journalists of the American Jazz Critics Association “... As a whole, the ICTUS Records’ 30th Anniversary Collection is a fascinating compilation with hours of special moments.

It is an important, if not essential collection, featuring an incredible array of talent, and priced as an extraordinary value. Reflecting the tastes and performances of Italian composer and percussionist Andrea Centazzo, the 12- CD boxed set gloriously presents an eclectic and highly individual selection of free improvisation.”

Steven Loewy (CADENCE, January 2007)

Andrea Centazzo Mitteleuropa Orchestra Sort of like Braxton meets Xenakis meets Zappa!... challenging and consistently fascinating… a variety of surprises with layers of complex writing, inventive arrangements and many inspired solos. This (Centazzo) music is in between modern European jazz and contemporary classical music. The balance between intricate writing and the quirky solos is just right.

BLG (Downtown Music Gallery, July 2007)

The Soul in the mist (Centazzo/Robinson/Stowe)

Every now and then a recording comes out which renews the realization of how richly creative improvised music can be. What is intriguing is the idea of the well of introspection that must trigger the musicians’ process. The answer to the question “What comes next?” keeps the listener glued to the music.

In the Ictus release, The Soul in the Mist, Andrea Centazzo, on drums, MIDI Mallet Kat and percussion, Nobu Stowe, on piano, and Perry Robinson, on clarinet, render the anticipation of “What comes next?” easy to accept. The concept of this recording is built on the careful traveling through an alluring, appealing and mysterious atmosphere to a place of surprise.... Centazzo creates the biggest sound... An ominous picture often gives way to one of safety and embrace. Rattles, a keyboard and cymbals serve to decorate the musical surface that indicates an Oriental character. The last track, “The Voices”, stands out as one where the drums are actually applied rhythmically... This recording might be interpreted as metaphor for living: how we wander with our eyes open to the vastness of what is ahead until something unexpected confuses us and causes us to stop, literally eradicating our wonder.

Lyn Horton

HEART OF WAX by John Barron, All About Jazz

Newly edited and re-mastered for Centazzo’s own Ictus Records, The Heart of Wax casts the Italian free-jazz pioneer in the role of composer/conductor, demonstrating superlative mastery of orchestration.

There is virtually no improvising to be found on The Heart of Wax. Although Centazzo incorporates lush, jazz influenced harmonies into his pieces, the emphasis is on the repetitive, minimalist blending of percussion and keyboards. What prevents the music from taking on an all-out minimalist stature; however, is the intriguing contrapuntal developments found within the melodic content of each movement.

Centazzo finds beauty within Martini’s subject matter, described by the artist as a “bizarre spectacular game, grotesque fable, dramatic macabre and ultimately joyous.” The careful choices in timbre along with the hypnotic, ethereal effect of his rhythmic layering catapults the listener into a world of sonic serenity, enveloped in warmth. While each individual movement of The Heart of Wax stands on its own as a distinct musical statement, the resulting whole performed with seamless perfection, is a bold statement from an under appreciated visionary.

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