(Contemporary Jazz, Chamber Classical) Carlo Maria Barile - Manhattan Suite … and other Stories - 2019, MP3, VBR 192-320 kbps

Carlo Maria Barile was born in Ferrara in 1989. He was taught to play piano and drums in Bari at the music school “Il Pentagramma”. In 2007 he won a scholarship for the Five Week Summer Performance Program at “Berklee College of Music” in Boston (MA); after graduating from secondary school with top marks, he graduated cum laude in organ execution and composition from the Conservatory “Niccolò Piccinni” in Bari, under the supervision of Margherita Quarta. In 2011 he took the Konzertexamen in organ with professor Tomasz Adam Nowak at the “Hochschule für Musik” in Detmold, Germany, obtaining the mark sehr gut. In 2016 he obtained a second - level Professional Master’s Degree cum laude in Early Music at the Conservatory “San Pietro a Majella”, under Antonio Florio. He kept improving under the guidance of teachers such as the Thomasorganist Ullrich Böhme, Naji Hakim and Ton Koopman. He held solo performances as a classical organist and harpsichordist and jazz piano player in locations such as the Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola-Jazz in Lincoln Center, the Steinway Hall and St. Peter’s Church in New York City; Toledo Cathedral and the Iglesia del Salvador in Granada, Spain, the Petruzzelli Theatre in Bari, Notre Dame des Champs church in Paris, the Valère Basilica in Sion, Switzerland; he also performed at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, the Lambertkirche in Münster and at the Markuskirche in Munich, Germany. As basso continuo player he performed at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Muziekcentrum de Bijloke in Gent, Belgium and the auditorium in Castel Sant’Elmo as a part of the ensemble “Cappella Neapolitana”, conducted by Antonio Florio. At the Royal Chapel of the Treasure of St. Januarius in Naples he took part in the first performance in present times of the Passio Domini Nostri Jesu Christi Secundum Mattheum, composed by Giovanni Maria Trabaci and conducted by Rosario Totaro. He played the harmonium in the Petite Messe Solennelle, performed by the Ghislieri Choir & Consort conducted by Giulio Prandi, organised by the Teatru Manoel and held at St Paul’s Pro-Cathedral in Valletta, Malta for Gioacchino Rossini’s 150th death anniversary celebrations. Moreover, he teaches piano and theory at the music school “Il Pentagramma” in Bari.
Michele Di Monte has been studying drums since an early age. After his classical studies he starts experimenting and searching new ways to play the drums, exchanging ideas with Italian and foreign drummers. He plays as a session drummer in concerts and recording studios with his own bands or collaborating with well-known musicians such as Irio De Paula, Tony Scott, Urbie Green, Joy Garrison and Crystal White. Since 1986 he has been teaching drums and music theory at the music school “Il Pentagramma” in Bari.
Born in Bari (Italy), Vito Di Modugno was voted among the best organ players in the world in “Downbeat” magazine’s poll. He began his musical studies very early, guided by his father Pino Di Modugno, an experienced and well-known accordionist, he studied piano, organ, electric bass and upright bass. He participated as soloist in concerts with the Symphony Orchestra “Arturo Toscanini” of Parma, playing organ in Jon Lord’s Concerto for Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra based on the Deep Purple piece from 1969. He was invited to perform in the United States with saxophonists Jerry Bergonzi and Carol Sudhalter. The Italian jazz magazine “Musica Jazz” included him among players specializing in Hammond Organ in their supplement with CD dedicated to the history of the instrument. He is winner for several times of the Jazzit Magazine award for Best Italian Organist. He has taught at the “N. Piccinni” Conservatory, Bari, and has given masterclasses in jazz at Espartina – Sevilla (Spain). He teaches at the "E. R. Duni" Conservatory, Matera, and at “Il Pentagramma” Music School, Bari, Italy.

Manhattan Suite is a musical composition dedicated to New York and to the historical, social and architectural facets of its most famous neighbourhood. This work was written in 2008 after the reading of Delirious New York, an essay by the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas analyzing the city, mostly its architecture and structure, from its foundation until modern times. Manhattan is not only history but also frenzy, movement, tradition and culture. Everything there has a story to tell and Manhattan Suite tries to translate these stories into music.
The composition is organized in five movements where different musical genres, notably jazz and classical music, are blended. 1. “Prelude” is dedicated to the origin of Manhattan, when the imposing buildings we know today did not exist, not even in the imagination of the first New Yorkers. 2. “Rockefeller Center” is about one of the most famous places in Manhattan, where the Radio City Music Hall is located. This building is known for the geometric contrast between the rectangular outline of the exterior and the semi-circular shapes of the interior, e.g. the stage. These contrasts are mirrored in the alternation of three beats and four beats tempo at the end of the main theme. The peaceful atmosphere is interrupted by the pain inflicted to the city by the tragedy of the Twin Towers. The sorrow is expressed by 3. “Ground Zero”, the only movement which is entirely classical. New Yorkers overcame the grief relying on their faith and their culture. 4. “Revival Blues” takes inspiration from the cultural and music heritage of North America. The last movement, 5. “Skyscrapers”, is inspired by New York’s iconic skyline and its solemnity, in turn inspired by classical architecture. Ten years after the first performance for piano solo, held in important locations, such as Steinway Hall (at the time located in 57th Street), Manhattan Suite is back, this time rearranged for a jazz trio, thus enhancing and highlighting the tone quality. Leaving Manhattan, but staying within American traditions, a jazz piece such as All the things…I am cannot be left out. Barile takes inspiration from Kern’s composition, creating his own arrangement, where echoes of Bach’s and Haendel’s styles resound. The last part of the project is Coffee Street, composed by Vito Di Modugno and lending its name to the jazz trio made up of Barile and his former teachers.
~ Cristina Campanile