Helga Plankensteiner - Barionda (2022)

Helga Plankensteiner, South Tyrolean, born in 1968, shows a multifaceted talent: saxophonist, singer, band leader, composer. As a demonstration of her enormous musical caliber, in 2009 she was called by Carla Bley to join her big band. You have given birth to numerous ensembles that are all very peculiar, from the El Porcino Organic group to the Sweet Alps orchestra to Plankton.
Perfectly representative of Plankensteiner's inspiration are the Barionda, a quintet with an unprecedented, indeed, even unheard of, ensemble: four baritone saxes plus drums. The line-up was created to re-evaluate the repertoire of the great jazz baritonists: Gerry Mulligan, Pepper Adams, Harry Carney, Serge Chaloff, Gary Smulyan and many others. In the repertoire, in addition to original compositions, there are pieces strongly characterized by the sound of the baritone such as Moanin ', Hora Decubitus by Mingus (linked to the memory of Pepper Adams), Sophisticated Lady (by Ellington, in the performances of whose orchestra Harry Carney stood out) or Bernie's Tune, Mulligan's workhorse.
Live, the music of the Barionda is released with explosive energy, thanks to the power, refinement and solo exuberance of saxophonists such as the Argentine Javier Girotto and the Austrian Florian Bramböck, as well as Plankensteiner and Giorgio Beberi.