Tino d'Agostino - bass
Sergio Bellotti - drums
Bill Vint - saxophone
Patric Andrén - keyboards, piano
Greg Burk - piano
Jim Kelly - guitar
Mike Stern - guitar
Son Finite Le Vergini 9:15 (d'Agostino)
Mr. Stern 7:10 (Kelly)
Estate 7:12 (Martino)
Better Left Unsaid 10:03 (Vint)
Blue Caboose 8:18 (Kelly)
Six for Costas 6:05 (Kelly)
Someday My Prince Will Come 7:04 (Churchill)
Produced by Sergio Bellotti & Tino d'Agostino
(c) 1998
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The birth of Spajazzy
One cold night in March of '97 on the red line from Boston to
Cambridge on the way to a Mike Stern performance the idea of SPAJAZZY
was born. Tino had been unable to play due to an injury and on this
night Sergio gave him a set of bass strings. He told Tino, that he was
sure he was going to feel better soon and they spoke of making a CD
together and dreamed of having Mike Stern play on it.
Six months later, while they were having an espresso (of
course), Jim Kelly walked into the cafe and the Spajazzy
project.
The dream started to become reality as Jim donated not only his tunes,
but his enormous talent.
The rest of the story is on the CD.
http://www.spajazzy.com/
Stern fans will love this CD. Bellotti is a powerhouse
drummer in the Dennis Chambers-Peter Erskine mold, while
D'Agostino's work on electric bass seems influenced by
Jaco Pastorius. The latter is a respected full-time jazz
teacher, while Bellotti taught at Berklee even before he
graduated. Vint also impresses with sax chops that
compare favorably to East Coast blowers Bob Berg and
Michael Brecker.
The three tracks with Stern are as good as anything he's
done on his own releases. D'Agostino's Son Finite Le
Vergini is a complex exercise in funky bop. Kelly's
Mr. Stern is a funky-bluesy number that features a
scintilating Stern solo. Vint's Better Left Unsaid is
a majestic anthem that gathers steam as it progresses
and showcases the saxophonist's clever blowing and
Stern's sinewy guitar.
The other four tracks are equally engaging. Estate has
a samba-like vibe, while Kelly's Blue Caboose is a
loose blues jam featuring hot solos by every player.
Bellotti's turn on the drum set is particularly
explosive. Six For Costas has Vint establishing the
melodic theme, Kelly delivering a fiery solo, and
D'Agostino and Bellotti building the foundation with
some elaborate polyrhythms. D'Agostino shows his lyrical
side on Someday My Prince Will Come, while Bellotti
decorously dusts his skins.
Ed Kopp, All About Jazz
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