TOMMASO PERAZZO / MARCELLO CARDILLO / FEATURING BUSTER WILLIAMS

PORTRAIT OF A MOMENT

Red Records

Tommaso Perazzo, piano; Buster Williams, bass; Marcello Cardillo, drums.

The legendary Buster Williams opens this album with vigorous energy, laying down a bass line that sets the mood and the tempo.  The original tune is a composition by Tommaso Perazzo called, “Back at the Right Spot.” Clearly this trio has settled into a very comfortable and creative space. It is definitely the right spot. This listener is immediately engaged.

However, the ballad “Christina” made me stop everything I was doing and pay complete attention to this wonderful album. That particular song, penned by Buster Williams, is absolutely beautiful. The bass of Williams begins the arrangement, while he plucks one note like a metronome, Perazzo’s piano tenderness quickly grabs my attention.  After Tomasso introduces us to the melody, he explores the chord changes, offering an awesome improvised solo.

The second single released from this album is “Kind of Blues” penned by Cardillo, the dynamic drummer, it’s a swinging composition that continues the trio’s concept of showcasing their international, intergenerational jazz. What a stellar idea to blend the seasoned veteran, Buster Williams, with two extremely talented, youthful, Italian musicians.

Marcello Cardillo explains, “I was inspired by the way Thelonious Monk used to compose.  I wanted it (King of Blues) to swing throughout, and I added in a little spice by changing the conventional blues form, making it eleven bars with the second to last bar in ¾ time.  The melody is based on a rhythmic displacement of small melodic cells.”

Cardillo, the trio’s drummer, composer, has won many prestigious awards while still in college, including the Downbeat College Award and the Bucharest International Jazz Competition. He earned full scholarships to the Conservatory of Amsterdam, where he received his undergraduate degree. Then, on to Manhattan School of Music where he earned his Master’s Degree.

Perazzo, the pianist, is twenty-eight years old, (like Cardillo). He has been playing piano since he was kindergarten age.  Early on, he became infatuated with blues and jazz. I hear deep blues roots when he plays.  Moving from Italy to The Netherlands, Perazzo studied at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, earning his Bachelor’s degree in jazz piano. He captured 1st prize in the best soloist category in the 2018 at the Keep an Eye International Jazz Awards. In the same year, he also won the prestigious Massimo Urbani International Jazz Award in Italy.

When you combine these two excellent jazz musicians with the iconic Buster Williams, who is an American jazz treasure, composer, educator and phenomenal bassist, at 83-years-young, Buster brings not only his big, fat sound and awesome technique on the bass, but he contributes his life experience.  Williams has played worldwide, with some of the most heralded jazz musicians on earth including, Sonny Stitt, Sarah Vaughan, Gene Ammons, the Jazz Crusaders, Herbie Hancock’s Mwandishi Sextet and too many more to list here.

I love their ‘blues’ arrangement of “Soul Leo” where Perazzo shines on the 88-keys.

Together, this trio swings harder than Shohei Ohtani hits the baseball out of national stadiums.  Every composition is beautifully played and exquisitely arranged. This is an album I will enjoy listening to time and time again!

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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