Summit meeting between two accordion tightrope walkers and improvisation magicians, as well as protagonists of the international jazz scene.
Antonello Salis and Simone Zanchini after ten years together again, to rejoice and experience, now as then, a music without barriers and preconceptions. The possibility of continuously exchanging roles, launched through the free impromptu creation, allows the two artists to fully enjoy the dynamic timbre faculties of their respective instruments, enriched by Antonello’s piano flights and by Simone’s refined electronic incursions and, last but not least, by the true pleasure of the two friends to talk tête-à-tête.
Piano Solo, more than a traditional piano concert, is a tribute to the art of improvisation. When Stefano Bollani takes the stage for his one man show, anything can happen. There is no lineup, no room program to cling to to follow the succession of songs. The viewer is drawn into a different adventure every night, a breathtaking journey through musical horizons that are only apparently distant.
We can thus pass from Bach to the Beatles, from Stravinskij to Brazilian rhythms, with sudden forays into pop or the Italian repertoire of the 1940s. In this real flow of musical consciousness, laughter and emotion mix.
Only one thing is certain, at the end of the concert the audience will decide the encore. Bollani diligently scores and performs the required pieces on the spot: an unpredictable medley in which virtuosity is mixed with irreverence. The accordionist ANTONELLO SALIS who will duet with Bollani is a musician who systematically remakes the artistic canons of the accordion of our times, visionary, avant-garde ranging from ingenious to bizarre, ideal shoulder of an eclectic and universal artist like Stefano Bollani.
Due grandi firme ai “giovedì sonori” dell’estate castellana. Sul palco di piazza della Repubblica, salgono il 15 luglio alle 21.30 Carmine Ioanna e Roy Paci facendo dialogare il genio del trombettista con quello del fisarmonicista nel progetto Ioanna music company, di cui sono parte Giampiero Franco (batteria), Giovanni Montesano (basso, contrabbasso), Eric Capone (tastiere), Morgana Grindel (backstage). Un sodalizio prestigioso, un dialogo suggestivo, un viaggio musicale intenso attraverso un repertorio di brani originali, cover e improvvisazione a ritmo di jazz.
it was an honor for us to get to know and start a collaboration with an exceptional person, an incredible world-class musician, Antonello Salis.
Salis is one of the greatest soloists of Italian jazz. Accordionist, pianist and composer. His work with the accordion is particularly appreciated, an instrument on which he can be defined as an innovator and creator of new expressive techniques that have brought him worldwide attention. In recent years Salis has been voted in the 2015 Jazzit Awards in first place among the best accordion soloists and always in first places in past editions, confirming how much he is appreciated by the public and critics.
JAF - THE JAZZ ACCORDION FESTIVAL IV° edition
in Castelfidardo ( the accordions city)
24/25/26 -01-2020
Sergio Capoferri is a sensitive accordionist, with an excellent instrumental mastery, who loves to wander between various musical genres but particularly inclined to classical music, popular music and Argentine tango. Through this chat he retraces some of the most important moments of his career.
I'm very proud and happy to receive the award of WORLD ACCORDION AMBASSADOR from the city of Castelfidaro!
Simone Zanchini
Carmine Ioanna is preparing to bring in his Irpinia another great name of Italian jazz: Antonello Salis. The magical meeting between the two accordions will take place on December 9, starting at 6 pm, at the Bolivar di Montemarano.
The story of the two musicians has several common traits: both come from small towns, Salis from Villamar in Sardinia and Ioanna from Ponteromito, they started playing as children and, at some point in their careers, they met jazz, the first in the 70s and the second in the 90s. Salis in the 70s, as a pianist as well as an accordionist, playing with musicians of the caliber of Lester Bowie and Paolo Fresu with whom, together with Furio Di Castri, he formed the trio P.A.F
Left Alone Project
The connection between Mediterranean music, African-American jazz music and the original compositions find place in a never predictable music.
The research of both ancient and contemporary material and action re-action typical of the instant composition are the glue between the proposed music
"We are very happy with the participation of Carmine Ioanna at the PIF - explains Luca Ottavianelli, owner with his brother Simone from the accordion manufacturer since 1937 - with a splendid instrument that we made on him, a Custom model, made as the dress of a great tailor, made to express beauty and great technical skills in absolute comfort for those who use it. When we hear Carmine giving life to the instrument we built on his body and his characteristics as a musician, we are happy for the great beauty that he can draw from our accordion ".
No less happy is the "accordion gypsy" who will perform in the quartet with Francesco Savoretti (percussion), Daniele Castellano (guitar) and Alex Gorbi (bass) to present his latest work "Soli in viaggio", released in spring for the French label Bonsai Music.
"In this work I put so much of myself - explains Ioanna - using my passion for astronomy to also tell an intimate story of mine: the expectation and birth of my firstborn Samuel, who just turned one year old. The birth of a child is a huge event in the life of a man, just like a "red dwarf" in space, a small star where perhaps one can live. I imagined for him the "Dance of the storks" and sang "Sulillo mio" an ancient song of peasant Irpinia in which I sink my roots and will teach them to love. This is a love record; of love for all creatures, for animals, like "Laika" the little dog sacrificed in the first Sputnik launches, of love for my partner and for my family, of love for the musicians of my quartet who know how to create a harmony and a sharing that is extraordinary ”.
The Accordion Association of Murska Sobota announces the 13.
International Accordion Competition “PannoniAccordion”, which will take a place from 9th- 12th May 2018 in Murska Sobota, Slovenia.
The overseas flavors announced by the artistic director Simone Zanchini find full manifestation in this project that traces the main eras of the evolution of jazz and its influences, up to the contemporary: Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Theloniuous Monk, John Coltrane, Chick Korea, Frank Marocco, the same Zanchini. A repertoire of Italian songs and original compositions that the accordionist from Urbino shares with Marco Chiarabini's guitar and Alex Gorbi's double bass.
Raffaele Conti
After the classical training, Raffaele Conti began a specialization course in jazz and improvisation, earning a degree in jazz at the Rossini Conservatory in Pesaro. He played and was the founder of various bands and groups both in fixed and combo bands ranging in the genres of tango, folk, traditional, jazz, funk, musette, manuche. He also collaborates with artistic lateral worlds of music such as painting and theater, performing in contexts ranging from the "Teatro Stabile di Torino" to experimental festivals and alternative artistic research. Self-taught
In recent years the need to have a personal sound, a sound that was "mine" and not that of an accordion, my sound, has grown more and more in me!
Although well constructed, standard accordions were no longer enough for me, so I designed one on paper, which we then put into practice and built together with the Ottavianelli Accordions company of Castelfidardo.
An instrument built with the best possible materials and currently findable, both for the case, entirely of white fir lutherie, and for the reeds, completely hand-built and searched one by one.
All this, combined with a "recording" that points everything on the double 16 (low octave low), gives the instrument a unique, powerful, very deep and incredibly rich sound of harmonics.
This is why we decided to call it Z Double 16.
Simone Zanchini
The company moves its first steps in 1937 … What has changed in all these years? Has there been an innovative process in the accordion construction or have you been faithful to the techniques of the past?
Our type of work in the family “shop” (as we like to name it) has remained very crafty and we are proud it. The “handmade” instrument is, in our opinion, more well finished and polished, because in the production process it passes several times for the hands of a person and not for the “arms” of a equipment. In the past, a lot of attention was paid to the quantity without leaving the aesthetic finishing touches. Today, on the contrary, the musician demands the care of every single detail. Innovation is, therefore, in search of materials, woods, skins, rather than using machines or accessories to simplify the production process.
The Ottavianelli brothers are probably among the youngest bussinessmen in Castelfidardo. How important is the contribution and experience of the older figures in the construction of an accordion, and how important is it to include “new forces” in the productive cycle of companies?
The oldest figure, the supervisor, is always a key point of reference and without our grandfather Amedeo and Dad, Ovidio, we would not have gained any kind of expertise in this branch. With the exception of family people, however, we have noticed much mistrust among the old workers jealous of their work and unlikely to convey their experiences to young people. Even among the companies there is not much collaboration and everyone thinks about cultivating our garden (mors tua, vita mea …), there is no entrepreneurial spirit, for example, if you buy raw materials in synergy you could get better prices and consequently the final product would have a lower cost. That being said, it is clear … the future is young and we believe that all the companies must put new forces to continue the project, young people capable of maintaining quality standards that are both capable and able, at the same time, to promote and place the product on the market.
Are you, like other Castelfidardo companies, pointing to a specific production line or covering the whole branch? I know you are very well placed in the folk, popular and anyway in traditional music in general, but browsing your site I also saw free bass accordions … What are the differences of your instruments?
Originally our instruments were mostly aimed at folk music, musette and dance music. Today, the Italian market has slowed down a bit and we have focused on overseas with a more complete production, especially with classical, jazz and low-key conservatories for fifth and thirds. We are also very well introduced in Brazil with a particularly suitable for Forrò. Our accordions, without seeing them, are recognizable by sound. One of the peculiarities of our product is the high compression of the instrument and the immediate response of reeds to the touch.
How does a musician stand out among the many offers of Castelfidardo companies? What should an accordionist be intrigued in purchasing a new instrument? Clearly the sound, but I think there are other peculiarities …
The musician usually has the ideas fairly clear and he knows what he is looking for … Sound is decisive, but an accordion has a lot of prerogatives … the weight, the silence of the mechanics, the excellent air tightness and a quick response to the touch.
Over the years, it has been able to reduce the weight of the instruments and produce more functional bellows, to name a few details that are not entirely negligible. In your opinion, where do you think you can still intervene to improve the accordions that will come?
We have already made great steps and we believe that there are no big margins to improve the already excellent instruments. Experiments with plastic and carbon prototypes have been made, but clearly the sound response cannot be the same. It might be interesting to find solutions to further silence the mechanical parts, but ultimately we talk about a valve and a leather that strikes on an aluminium base and at the moment we do not believe there are any big disturbances in the horizon.
How much do you care about the competition of foreign companies and especially those from China, as long as it can really affect a level market such as that made up of Castelfidardo’s historic factories?
At first we did not bother them, because their product was still very poor even if it was affordable at the economic level. Nowadays, especially Korean companies, they have reached slightly higher qualitative standards, and although the differences with our instruments are noticed, they are particularly appealing to those families with children moving their first steps in the music world.
There was, undeniably, a rise in values even among accordionists; the way to play has changed considerably over the last 30 years, and even in the Italian Conservatives, as in the major foreign institutions, there has been an increase in registrations. This undoubtedly entails a greater demand for production, but also, probably, a constant innovation in the face of the various requests of musicians …
We work mainly, about 80%, with distributors and work proceeding quite standard. In other cases, we try to match the demands of musicians that vary from the choice of the reeds, to the tuning, the weight, the lightness of the keyboard …
Among the many artists associated with your brand, there is a musician of the likes of Simone Zanchini … From what I was told to know his instrument is a very special… Can you describe it?
It is a solid spruce instrument, a wood with excellent and particularly light sound. Its is a cassette accordion called “Z double 16″ with 2 low octaves in cassette tuned differently and out with an 8 “(natural / clarinet) and a 4″ (small / acute) whose combination of sounds gives the instrument an entirely original and exclusive sound especially suitable for jazz music. The items are handmade pro model and are mounted with leather and nails instead of wax. He also claimed changes in keystrokes and bass mechanics, which in his instrument are 90.
When you experiment with improvements such as those made in Simone Zanchini’s accordion, they are automatically applied to standard instruments or … is there an out-out of the artist?
Zanchini’s accordion is a custom instrument that is not made in series; we produce the same model with some variants, such as the number of bass and registers. The technical characteristics remain unchanged.
For your 80th birthday you have been given a showroom in the centre of Castelfidardo …
In May we decided to give us this new showroom located in a very strategic position (Porta Marina) that allows us to have more visibility among the many tourists and enthusiasts who arrive systematically in the town. In Castelfidardo, almost all industry companies are located in the 3 industrial zones and visitors are down to the centre and do not find an exhibition. As far as we are concerned, we also think that we have contributed an image to the “Accordion City”, and for our customers it is easier to try the instruments in a particularly comfortable environment.
What’s cooking in the following future?
In this last year we have launched a further line of intermediate accordion that is between studio and professional models. The line is called “Superior” and is having a lot of success especially abroad.
Simone Zanchini breaks into the Jazz Accordion Festival of Castelfidardo with "Casadei Secondo me" and his quartet composed by Stefano Bedetti (saxophone), Roberto Bartoli (double bass) and Marco Frattini (drums). Brilliant, engaging, never predictable. Rather than a tribute, but rather a reworking in a jazz key with original arrangements of famous pieces drawn from the popular repertoire of one of the founders of the smooth Romagna, Secondo Casadei.
A performance of this review, as Simone Zanchini himself explains. is the mirror and the synthesis: "jazz winks at modernity, drawing on the heritage of folklore that has always distinguished the accordion, thus closing an ideal circle that, starting from the roots of music linked to our instrument, makes a contemporary show blossom and linked to current events ”. For the virtuoso Zanchini, whose research spans across various fields by combining multiple expressions with skill and skill, today's one is a return to the origins in more ways than one. A confirmation of the historical relationship with Castelfidardo, where he participated very young in the Prize & Competition but with which he above all established an exclusive bond for the construction of the instrument that he designed for himself in a team with the Ottavianelli family to always look for new and personalized sounds; a tribute to an artist of the past, because "those born in Romagna and seven years old choose to play the accordion, can not fail to have grown up breathing the swing language that after the war decreed the success of Secondo Casadei".
The quintet revisits key personnel the sound of Art Van Damme, one of the greatest living exponents of jazz accordion.
The songs of the great musician, characterized by the combination of accordion-vibraphone, alternating original Zanchini compositions, always respecting the language of jazz “overseas” that few have expressed the accordion, especially in Europe.
Zanchini had the chance to play with both Van Damme with another great master of jazz accordion as Frank Marocco and it is from these experiences that comes his sound fresh and modern.
Terre Di Mezzo is initially a trio formed by the creative talent of Simone Zanchini on the accordion, Emiliano Rodriguez on the saxophone and Roberto Batoli on the double bass. The skilful painting of Ettore Fioravanti's drumming was joined to the three Romagnoli in this work.
Faro, a southern Portuguese city with southern flavors and colors, is the title of this second work of the quartet (which, in some experiences, has also become a quintet with the participation of Gianluigi Trovesi).
The work moves between themes as different as they are fascinating, rich in history and culture of the world. A wise mix of rhythms and contaminations that travel between the notes of jazz, sometimes lapping at them and others immersing themselves.
All the compositions are original and predominantly signed by Zanchini and Batoli (Rodriguez is the author of Tataranz alone). The style is confused, but in the positive sense of the term and, on the other hand, it could not be otherwise, since the middle lands are precisely those short stretches of land, enclosed between the cultivated fields and the roads intersecting the same, where they rest the seeds of every genus and species that give life to the weeds. This variegated form of shrubs is the musical identity of the group, devoid of patterns, of musical "pruning", of affected care. Their music moves perfectly in this sense. Their musical, mental freedom is also evident in the titles of the pieces, always at the limits of the possible (or of the impossible).
Ottavianelli accordions factory snc di Ottavianelli Simone e Luca - Via IV Novembre, 52 - 60022 - Castelfidardo (AN) - P.IVA 02320580422 - TEL. 071/7206505 - FAX 071/7206505 - info@ottavianelliaccordions.it
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