Riccardo Morpurgo Quintet - Lemniscata (2015)

«Lemniscata» is the record of the maturity for Riccardo Morpurgo, released eight years after «Answering», recorded as a trio, and three years after the intense piano solo «Dove è il Nord». It isn’t an ordinary quintet this that has as soloists, in addition, of course, to the piano of the leader, the tenor sax of Mirko Guerrini – a happy reunion 20 years after the successful experience of Siena Jazz – and the electric guitar of Walter Beltrami, all exemplary in outlining with clarity and enthusiasm the fascinating and complex melodic lines of the themes. Even the titles of the only two non original tunes help us understand that we are facing an ambitious project. The choice of King Crimson and the Beatles doesn’t seem in fact dictated by the search for greater marketability, quite the opposite. Born in 2011, the quintet explores a repertoire characterized by a highly contemporary sound, that even when becoming more abstract, almost impalpable – recalling some Paul Motian’s atmospheres – never leaves the scope of jazz, thanks to a solid swing provided by the well–matched rhythmic section formed by Simone Serafini and Luca Colussi. An example of this is the title track song, Lemniscata, where the two main items, sax and guitar, are used to create an unusual texture of sounds, absolutely non conventional, creating long and evocative melodies, which seem to chase and weave endlessly, rather than exposing the theme in unison. The great attention paid to the rhythmic component of music (the re–reading of Frame by frame is demonstrative in this regard), helps to produce a highly dynamic effect. There are new songs, but there are also compositions taken from previous albums, that, however, in the execution of the quintet shine a completely new light. Finally, the poignant ballad donated to the group by Guerrini is superb, above all perfectly in tune with the absorbed and meditative atmosphere of the record.