Schema Jazz | Fusion 30 Items

Currently at work on new compositions that will give shape to a new album scheduled for the fall of 2024, Gerardo Frisina delights our ears with a 45rpm containing two unreleased tracks representing a brief funk digression within his musical journey without, of course, affecting his unmistakable style. “Mystical Funk” and “Spaced Out” skilfully mix “modern funk” elements with electronic influences, creating a unique sonic experience. In both cases, one of the surprising features is the hypnotic, incessant groove, capable of drawing the listener into a sound universe full of cosmic percussion and atmospheres, enhanced by Dennis Coffey-style guitars and by a Deodato-like Fender piano. Once again Gerardo hits the mark: the production is masterful, with a clear attention to details and those typical arrangements that reflect the overall quality of the sound with delicate power.

Third album and first one on Schema Records by the cinematic Milanese duo The Dining Rooms. 12 tracks that redefine TDR music style, drawing inspiration from Jazz, Africanism, Hip-Hop, House and Soul with true eclectism.

As the album title suggests, this work represents a big step forward for Gerardo Frisina, an artist that has always been open to any influence and whose unstoppable creativity has given birth to a 2-LP’s worth of new material! Nu-latin, Afro and electronic beats merge with Afro-Cuban rhythm into a massive dancefloor groove!

Conceived, as its predecessors, as the ideal musical accompaniment to a packed dance hall, “Blue Latin” reinterprets a musical genre – jazz, of course! - which even decades ago was considered the dance music ‘par excellence’, and delivers it, extremely modernized, to the present day, contaminated by Afro-Cuban, Brazilian and Latin-jazz elements, all made fluid, compelling and above all… danceable! The almost-meditative “Incanto” combines spiritual jazz influences and African atmospheres.

Pantaleon Perez Prado is the younger brother of the “King Of The Manbo” who came in Europe in the 50s and recorded some albums with Unifunk. Taken from “Escandalo” (sceb919lp) “Circle” was written by Mario Rusca and has been performed by some amazing musicians such has Tullio De Piscopo, Hugo Heredia and Pino Presti. “Circle” is a strong track with a killer groove – on the B side we have an unique version edited by Gerardo Frisina

“People Need People / The Higher Love” is an exclusive 7” containing the two singles promoting the most recent release by Nicola Conte and Gianluca Petrella, two eclectic artists that, sixteen years after “New Standards” (2001, Scep336), found themselves working together again: this encounter led to the release of three new 12” EP’s in only three years and the double LP “People Need People”, plus the release of “Let Your Light Shine On” by Nicola Conte & Spiritual Galaxy. “People Need People” manages to communicate the club culture enthusiasm to conquer a new market capable of soliciting new interests in the nu-soul and jazz scene. From Detroit future dance to afrobeat and spiritual jazz through a nu-disco sound, the unique vibe of these two songs drags us in search of deep music in a spiritual and mantric context. In a peculiar historical moment Nicola Conte and Gianluca Petrella send a message of hope, of aggregation and Universal Love. A feeling of elevation and solidarity is shared Through Raashan’s poetry, something that can predict winds of change for humanity, a feeling that flows from a higher love. “People Need People” and “The Higher Love” are part of a collective experience wisely directed by Nicola and Gianluca that sees the participation of numerous artists from different parts of the world. Looking at the past and fetching sounds, rhythms and instruments typical of tribal / African traditions, soul / spiritual jazz and cosmic music from it, Nicola and Gianluca have performed an operation of strong contamination with modern electronic sounds, disco and hip-hop, creating a completely original hybrid. Their goal is to accompany the listener through a collective spiritual elevation path, guided by the only true universal language: music. In a historical period marked by contrasts, lack of communication and forced social distancing, this release proves to be even more essential and necessary.

Conceived and produced by Luciano Cantone, co-founder of Schema Records, and written by Alex Puddu, The Afro Soul Prophecy is a musical project that stands out of time and trends and that finally releases a full-length after some 2017 singles/Ep’s. “Heat in the City” is an almost completely instrumental black funk music-based album, that often indulges in afrobeat, latin, disco and urban blaxploitation music. The multi-ethnic nature of this project ensures a multifaceted work, where the music language has been able to unite musicians from all over the world.

The circle is now complete: after three EP's in a row released under this project, Nicola Conte and Gianluca Petrella have finally joined forces to finalize a full-length record. From Africa to Detroit, from jazz to electronica, an endless voyage with one of the most sophisticated and ambitious albums of the international club scene.

9 tracks by Jukka Eskola, Dalindeo, ...

Mermaids really do exist, and I discovered this a few days ago. I came across the fantastic story of the Ama, literally the women of the sea. They live in Toba Bay, Japan, and have a long-established custom that has been passed on from one generation to another for more than two thousand years. Not so few. What do they do? They jump into the sea half-naked to fish for seaweed, octopus and, above all, for pearls. They are the real pearl fisherwomen. They reach a depth of just under 30m, with only the strength of their lungs. They are as beautiful as the sun. When they ascend, due to a strange play of sounds and noises coming from their hyperventilating lungs, they emit a kind of whistle that sounds like the cry of dolphins. Or more precisely, the song of mermaids. They go down into the deep sea and search for pearls. When out of the water, they train all their lives and help each other passing on practices and secrets, confiding in one another to stay united. And they are cohesive, never envious of one another, just a great sense of belonging. With his new work Gianluca seems to have drawn from this ancient hunt, made up of memories and traces. He submerged and searched in the remotest memories and ancestral sounds of skins, streets, eras and styles. With his appreciation he has connected black ghettos, slums, townships, ‘the bronx’ of all over the world and explored them with the curious sounds of contemporaneity. Gianluca also has a very cohesive community of musicians around him, he is proud of this, and with them he finds his element, his peace. ‘Anyone who doesn’t get along with musicians has an unresolved problem,’ he tells me. And that’s why he makes a point of letting it be known that each of the five well-known members of his Cosmic Band and the many valuable guests who populate this new record, contributed decisively to the creation of these crazy tracks. In what way? By using the words of their instruments, generating a language that serves precisely to connect past and present, useful for finding the thread of dialogue. A continuous back-and-forth between generations. To speak of the best in the field is an idle exercise: all have striven in the realisation of the composition, all deserve full praise, none excluded. Ovations for all. If you think you are only listening to jazz, you are sadly mistaken. There are exotic ghosts, promises of evasion. There is a celebration of the human condition. There is a life in here. A plunge into the heart of music and its many languages. A record about confrontation on words, about memory, about being true to oneself. But it is also a work on how complicated it is to come to terms with what we call identity, and Gianluca rewrites this identity in his own way. A work made of whispers, murmurs, in which music and language try to invent a new encounter. That takes us down into the abyss of the sea and up to the sky. Federico Scoppio

Mermaids really do exist, and I discovered this a few days ago. I came across the fantastic story of the Ama, literally the women of the sea. They live in Toba Bay, Japan, and have a long-established custom that has been passed on from one generation to another for more than two thousand years. Not so few. What do they do? They jump into the sea half-naked to fish for seaweed, octopus and, above all, for pearls. They are the real pearl fisherwomen. They reach a depth of just under 30m, with only the strength of their lungs. They are as beautiful as the sun. When they ascend, due to a strange play of sounds and noises coming from their hyperventilating lungs, they emit a kind of whistle that sounds like the cry of dolphins. Or more precisely, the song of mermaids. They go down into the deep sea and search for pearls. When out of the water, they train all their lives and help each other passing on practices and secrets, confiding in one another to stay united. And they are cohesive, never envious of one another, just a great sense of belonging. With his new work Gianluca seems to have drawn from this ancient hunt, made up of memories and traces. He submerged and searched in the remotest memories and ancestral sounds of skins, streets, eras and styles. With his appreciation he has connected black ghettos, slums, townships, ‘the bronx’ of all over the world and explored them with the curious sounds of contemporaneity. Gianluca also has a very cohesive community of musicians around him, he is proud of this, and with them he finds his element, his peace. ‘Anyone who doesn’t get along with musicians has an unresolved problem,’ he tells me. And that’s why he makes a point of letting it be known that each of the five well-known members of his Cosmic Band and the many valuable guests who populate this new record, contributed decisively to the creation of these crazy tracks. In what way? By using the words of their instruments, generating a language that serves precisely to connect past and present, useful for finding the thread of dialogue. A continuous back-and-forth between generations. To speak of the best in the field is an idle exercise: all have striven in the realisation of the composition, all deserve full praise, none excluded. Ovations for all. If you think you are only listening to jazz, you are sadly mistaken. There are exotic ghosts, promises of evasion. There is a celebration of the human condition. There is a life in here. A plunge into the heart of music and its many languages. A record about confrontation on words, about memory, about being true to oneself. But it is also a work on how complicated it is to come to terms with what we call identity, and Gianluca rewrites this identity in his own way. A work made of whispers, murmurs, in which music and language try to invent a new encounter. That takes us down into the abyss of the sea and up to the sky. Federico Scoppio

After a 5-year long hiatus, cinematic music heroes The Dining Rooms are back with one of their most complete and innovative release ever, the 8th one made in collaboration with Schema Records.

This is probably one of the most interesting albums from the Milanese duo, that still carries the classic Dining Rooms trademark, but also sounds very contemporary and fresh.

Includes collaborations with Sean Martin, Georgeanne Kalweit, Lola Kola, Beatrice Velasco Moreno and Rahma Hafsi on vocals.

The arrival of Marvin Parks on today’s musical scene is a perfect addition to the renaissance of the Afro-American Jazz Crooner panorama, deeply rooted in the Black Music tradition. Having his roots in Gospel and in the ’50s and ’60s jazz singers by the likes of Nat King Cole, Johnny Hartman and Joe Williams, Marvin Parks yet remains by all means an artist of today. In his debut Marvin shapes his light baritone colors within the sound of a well-established group of musicians under the direction and production of Nicola Conte, giving a different light to well-known standards and some originals.

Considering the incredibly wide range of styles adopted by Piero Umiliani during his career, it will come as no surprise for you to know that he also produced disco. At that time in Italy disco had still an exotic appeal and was considered apt to accompany a genre of movies that was at once erotic and comic. “Discomusic” is some sort of a white version of a sound that is inherently black, a unique record within Umiliani‘s discography. The track “Discomania” became popular as the closing theme of 90° Minuto, a famous Italian football TV show.

A deep mystery surrounds the movie “Nell’anno della Luna” (In the year of the Moon) and its soundtrack, which was released one year later. A beautiful work that lingers in between swing and melodies, in a fad that was popular a few decades earlier, complemented by some elements of novelty borrowed from beat and rock. The title track, “Alla brasiliana” and “Samba Querida” sound more traditional, while titles like “Afro Swing”, “Underground”, “Beatmania” (all featuring the vocal ensemble I 4+4, led by Nora Orlandi) represent a more adventurous side of this soundtrack.

This album is not about presenting Jukka Eskola as a virtuoso trumpet soloist but it's more an album about good music, melodies and atmosphere.

A hard swinging 'cooking session' with Finland's top jazzmen: Teppo Mäkynen, Antti Lötjönen, Georgios Kontrafouris & Abdissa Assefa.

First part in the Schema 7" series. No gimmicks needed here, this jazz is cooking.

Sahib, besides being an undisputed leader and releasing records for prestigious European and American labels, was one of the key members of the prestigious Kenny Clarke Francy Boland Big Band.

The album has been released in different versions and on two different occasions. The first, in 2004, saw the original release of “Other Directions” as a 2-lp set, while a single CD version had been licensed to Blue Note Records. In 2011, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Edizioni Ishtar, Schema Records has published a 2-cd version with an extra CD featuring the tracks previously released on vinyl, plus some unreleased ones.

Always in balance between Jazz and Bossa Nova, “Other Directions” reveals Nicola Conte’s compositive soul bound, furthermore the composer’s intention is to communicate not only through the music but through the lyrics too, showing a talented and learned songwriter. Inspired both by the beat literature (The Dharma Bums is a true homage to Jack Kerouac) and the English one (Wanin’ Moon is inspired by a Percy Shelley’s poem), also the cinema and dramaturgy influenced the composer: “Le Depart” is a reassessment of the piece written in ’67 by Krzysztof Komeda for the namesake Jerzy Skolimovsky’s movie, and “All Gone” is a homage to Joseph Losey’s “Il Servo,” a ’60s black-and-white movie directed by Harold Pinter.

Includes a line-up of Italian and international artists such as Gianluca Petrella, Daniele Scannapieco, Pietro Lussu, Lorenzo Tucci, Fabrizio Bosso, Nicola Stilo, Till Brönner, Nicola traces with great skill the sensuality of the dialogue between the winds and the piano, he beats and emphasizes its rhythms, and adds some extremely elastic voices, the most remarkable of which belongs to Cristina Zavalloni.

After reuniting Cosmic Renaissance and releasing the album “Universal Language” (sclp/cd513) in 2022, Gianluca Petrella returns to the future jazz scene 2023 as a protagonist with a new five-track EP, “Universal Message”, again on Schema Records label, keeping the wind section of the original record unchanged. Among the most versatile musicians around today, Gianluca here evolves his style into new forms of afro-jazz futurism with three revisitations in electronic-jazz dance key of “Universal Language” and “Connection”, as well as two previously unreleased tunes, the title-track and “Mutation”, for a final result that is greater than the sum of its parts. And there is no better description of this music than a complete and total immersion in its sonic waves!

Universal Message (2023) After reuniting the Cosmic Renaissance project and releasing the album “Universal Language” (sclp/cd513) in 2022, Gianluca Petrella returns to the future jazz scene 2023 as a protagonist with a new five-track EP, “Universal Message”, again on Schema Records label, keeping the wind section of the original record unchanged. In the wake of the full-length that preceded it, “Universal Message” starts from jazz to reach, with incredible spontaneity and naturalness, new heights and musical genres. In fact, Gianluca Petrella is one of the most versatile musicians around today: instinctively aiming at new mu¬sical perspectives, here he evolves his style into new forms of afro-jazz futurism, abandoning the band concept towards an electronic aesthetic with a profound spiritual concept. The project, derived in part from the previous one, includes three revis¬itations in electronic jazz-dance key of “Universal Language” and “Con¬nection”, as well as two previously unreleased tunes, the title-track and “Mutation”. While the former is an excellent compendium of the sound spectrum offered by Cosmic Renaissance, “Mutation” is a suspended and rarefied track that combines ambient, reverberations of tribal per¬cussion and echoes of futuristic voices and sounds, for a final result that is greater than the sum of its parts. And there is no better description of this music than a complete and total immersion in its sonic waves! - - - Dopo aver riunito il progetto Cosmic Renaissance e pubblicato nel 2022 l’album “Universal Language” (sclp/cd513), Gianluca Petrella torna ad essere protagonista della scena future jazz 2023 grazie a un nuovo EP di cinque tracce, “Universal Message”, sempre su etichetta Schema Records, mantenendo inalterata la sezione fiati del disco originale. Sulla scia del full-length che lo ha preceduto, “Universal Message” parte dal jazz per raggiungere, con una spontaneità e naturalezza incredi¬bili, nuove vette e generi musicali. Gianluca Petrella infatti è oggi tra i musicisti più versatili in circolazione: istintivamente rivolto verso nuove prospettive musicali, evolve qui il proprio stile in nuove forme di afro-jazz futurism abbandonando il concetto di band verso un’estetica elettronica dal profondo concept spirituale. Il progetto, derivato in parte dal precedente, comprende tre rivisitazioni in chiave electronic jazz-dance dei brani “Universal Language” e “Con¬nection”, oltre a due inediti, la title-track e “Mutation”: mentre la prima costituisce un eccellente compendio dello spettro sonoro offerto da Cosmic Renaissance, “Mutation” è un brano sospeso e rarefatto che unisce ambient, riverberi di percussioni tribali ed echi di voci e suoni futuristici, per un risultato finale superiore alla somma delle singole parti. E non c’è descrizione migliore di questa musica di un’immersione com¬pleta e totalizzante nelle sue onde sonore!