Harold Danko (USA): piano
Barbara Raimondi: voice
Enzo Zirilli: drums
Claudio Chiara: alto sax
“Rhythm, Harmony and Melody” is a trio conceived for a musical project with a high degree of interplay, merging Rhythm, Harmony, and Melody into a single framework. A 'memory' of the trio that reworks material in real time, always fresh and original. The aim of this work, which will be brought into the recording studio, is to free the song form from overly restrictive aesthetic criteria, making it creative and communicative through its expressive musical value. Hence the title “Songs”. The inspiration for this project comes from the idea of processing musical material while assuming responsibility for the individual ‘natures’ of music: voice for melody, piano for harmony, and drums and percussion for rhythm. Drawing from the approach of the two magnificent recordings of "The Life of a Trio" (Giuffrè/Bley/Swallow, 1990), the three ‘natures’ intertwine, seeking an approach as free and creative as possible, based on material easily approached through the voice. Inspired by Harold Danko’s recent works, influenced by Igor Stravinsky’s "The Rite of Spring", vocalist Barbara Raimondi, together with her longtime collaborator and partner in crime Enzo Zirilli, decided to use heterogeneous musical material, including elements from classical music tradition, stepping somewhat away from strictly jazz conventions to explore alternative paths. The repertoire draws on the works of monumental American song composers such as Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, and Charles Ives, who developed the song form in an intense and marvelous way, even setting immortal poems like those of Emily Dickinson to music. Original songs in Italian are added to this, employing jazz compositional structures to highlight both their compositional and communicative qualities. Joining the trio is a highly sensitive and experienced musician, Claudio Chiara on alto and soprano saxophone, whose more strictly jazz language dialogues with the other instruments without emphasizing a soloist/accompanist hierarchy, blending instead into a unified and intense whole.
Harold Danko’s career spans over half a century: his collaborations with legendary jazz musicians are documented in recordings and videos worldwide, including the iconic 1987 Tokyo concert with Chet Baker and recordings with the Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Orchestra, Gerry Mulligan, Lee Konitz, James Moody, to name a few. His most recent solo recordings see him at the piano, in a trilogy of CDs recorded for SteepleChase titled "Spring Garden", "Rite Notes", and "Trillium", inspired by Igor Stravinsky’s music. Danko recalls his experiences in Italy: “My first visit to Italy was for Chet Baker’s celebrated tour return in 1976, when I tasted pesto and profiteroles for the first time: thus began a long love affair in which I played, made friends, and ate Italian-style. My Italian musical journey includes concerts with Dee Dee Bridgewater, Jerry Dodgion, and Toots Thielemans, among others. I’ve held many masterclasses and collaborated with the Eastman Chamber Jazz Ensemble to bring Gil Evans’ music to Umbria Jazz.”
Barbara Raimondi has been active in music for over 30 years; she has released six solo CDs and boasts numerous important collaborations in jazz as well as pop music. She studied opera and has participated in numerous contemporary music productions. A graduate of the “G. Verdi” Conservatory in Turin, she is currently a tenured Jazz Voice teacher there. Her musical work primarily focuses on jazz, but she has often explored singer-songwriter music—both collaborating with other artists and as a composer/lyricist—as well as contemporary art music. She has arranged for choirs, directed the Circolo Vocale for three years with a repertoire dedicated to American musical theater, and led the improvisational vocal collective CollaVoce. She founded the vocal trio Kaliòpi with guitarist Nico Di Battista. Her recent recordings include a 2013 monographic work on the music of the great saxophonist Ornette Coleman, for which she arranged several pieces with original lyrics; it was recorded with Mauro Negri (alto and soprano sax), Furio Di Castri (double bass), and Enzo Zirilli (drums), and presented in London at the ReVoice! Festival, with the valuable collaboration of the renowned English alto saxophonist Tony Kofi. In recent years, she has frequently collaborated with British musicians, both live and in recordings. Recently, she released "Floricanto", a new album with the trio Contigo en la distancia, alongside Brazilian guitarist Roberto Taufic and drummer Enzo Zirilli. Over her long career, she has also worked with Enrico Pieranunzi, Jonathan Gee, Terry Pack, Mark Edwards, Jim Mullen, Patti Wicks, Gianni Cazzola, Marco Pereira, Ares Tavolazzi, Rob Sudduth, Peggy Stern, Luigi Bonafede, Emanuele Cisi, Sandro Gibellini, Giampaolo Casati, Andrea Pozza, Roberto Rossi, Riccardo Fioravanti, Garrison Fewell, Peppe Servillo, Roberto Vecchioni, Armando Corsi, Gino Touche, and Mario Rosini.
Enzo Zirilli is regarded as one of the most creative and versatile drummers/percussionists of recent generations. Gifted with profound musicality, which has enabled him to absorb and personalize all forms of contemporary music, he has been active for over twenty-five years, performing and recording worldwide with major Afro-American, Italian, and European musicians in jazz, world, and pop music, including Dado Moroni, Enrico Pieranunzi, Bob Mintzer, Charlie Mariano, Steve Grossman, Eddie Gomez, Antonio Forcione, James Moody, Tom Harrell, Ira Coleman, Rossana Casale, Marco Pereira, Ivan Segreto, Peppe Servillo, Flavio Boltro, Ares Tavolazzi, Larry Nocella, Randy Brecker, Gloria Gaynor, Fabrizio Bosso, Rosario Giuliani, Furio Di Castri, Emanuele Cisi, and many others. Born and raised musically in Turin, in 2003 he moved to London, quickly establishing himself as one of the most in-demand musicians and collaborating with British and international jazz icons such as Jim Mullen, Stan Sulzmann, John Etheridge, Liane Carroll, Ian Shaw, Omar Lye-Fook, and Hamish Stuart (ten years alongside Paul McCartney), as well as with next-generation musicians including John Parricelli, Gilad Atzmon, Alex Garnett, Brandon Allen, Ross Stanley, and Quentin Collins.
Claudio Chiara was born in Moncalieri in 1960, where he still resides. In 1982 he graduated in double bass at the “G. Verdi” Conservatory in Turin under Maestro Enzo Ferraris, while simultaneously approaching jazz through the study of saxophone. Since 1986, he has been the first alto sax of the Gianni Basso Big Band, which, after the passing of the great leader, became the Torino Jazz Orchestra, performing with renowned American musicians such as Lee Konitz and Ernie Wilkins. As sax section leader, he has collaborated with several big bands, including the Rai Rhythm Orchestra in Milan, the Bansigu Big Band in Genoa, the Mellowtone Orchestra directed by Riccardo Zegna, and the Big Band of the “Paese degli Specchi” in Bologna, performing with George Russell and Kenny Wheeler. In June 2002, he played alto lead with the New York Voices vocal group at the Estival Jazz in Lugano with the Swiss Italian Radio Symphony Orchestra. A long-time collaborator with Paolo Conte’s orchestra since 1995, in 2008 he participated in the Paolo Conte Sinfonico project, performing three memorable concerts with Conte’s songs arranged for symphony orchestra and conducted by Bruno Fontaine at the Acropolis in Athens, the Opéra de Lyon, and Salle Pleyel in Paris. In March 2012, he joined American musician Carla Bley’s orchestra with Steve Swallow on electric bass as lead alto sax at the Torino Jazz Festival and, the following year, participated in the American big band Mingus Dynasty. In 2014, he formed the Lucio Gallo–Claudio Chiara Quintet – Tribute to Frank Sinatra with baritone Lucio Gallo. In November 2021, he performed with The Charlie Parker Legacy Band, led by American saxophonist Jesse Davis, at the Liceu Conservatory in Barcelona. In February 2023, he performed with Paolo Conte at the Teatro Alla Scala in Milan. In 2023, he gave two concerts with the Paolo Conte Legacy Ensemble at the Conservatories of Turin and Milan as part of the Mito 2023 program. The tour continues in 2024 with concerts at the Auditorium of the Violin Museum in Cremona, Teatro Dal Verme in Milan, and Teatro Grande in Brescia. Also in 2024, he performs with the Torino Jazz Orchestra accompanying Paolo Fresu’s quintet at the Torino Jazz Festival, with arrangements by Paolo Silvestri. He has also played with many American jazz greats, including Phil Woods, Tom Harrell, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Diane Schuur.
