Gerardo Frisina Vinyl, CD & Tape 12 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.

Heralded by the “Soul Drum” 12” EP (scep507, 2022), Gerardo Frisina’s new double record “Joyful Sound” represents another step forward on his ongoing travel towards new musical paths. Joyful sounds narrate a journey made of wisely distilled notes, bright and sometimes mysterious atmospheres, harmonies that wander through shadows, silences, and lights. A chameleonic Gerardo enchants with every release, mixing jazz, Latin, Afro-Cuban sounds, oriental fragrances, electronic beats, tribal percussions, funky variations and, to summarize, elegant symphonic arrangements with refined mastery. “Joyful Sound” once again sees the participation of the late Enzo Frassi (double bass), Fabrizio Bernasconi (piano, Rhodes), Gendrickson Mena (trumpet, piano), Alfonso Deidda (sax, flute) and Ernesto Lopez (drums, percussion), with the addition of Piero Perelli on drums and Giovanni Guerretti on piano, Hammond and Rhodes. This new record, carefully orchestrated and produced by Gerardo, required over a year of intense work, however it is worth every second of its 75 minutes of music. As the great Charles Mingus once said, “Play it in the key of your soul”. Without a doubt, Gerardo always gives his soul in full!

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.

For a prolific artist as Gerardo Frisina, almost two years without a new release from him seems like an eternity: this brand new 12" EP entitled 'Soul Drum' breaks the silence, giving us three new works composed by Gerardo, made up of four recordings if we consider the two versions of the title track.

This EP anticipates the full album already in the works, scheduled for release at the end of 2022.

Without losing his Latin trademark, Gerardo continues his research into hypnotic and pulsating rhythmic patterns in both acoustic and electronic form, which are now a fundamental stylistic element of his. As on his previous album 'Moving Ahead', the rhythmic style blends naturally with echoes of tribal voices, piano keys and wind instruments (trumpet, saxophone, flute), creating the 'Joyful Sound' (title of the forthcoming album) that reverberates on the surface. With an artist as meticulous as Gerardo Frisina, it is to be expected that even the simplest beat has been deeply thought out and chosen from a potentially infinite sound palette, and this can be heard perfectly in the depth of sound of the four tracks of this release. "Soul Drum" is dedicated to the loving memory of bassist Enzo Frassi, who contributed to this EP - along with 'usual guests' Fabrizio Bernasconi, Gendrickson Mena, Alfonso Deidda and Ernesto Lopez.

8 tracks

Heralded by the “Soul Drum” 12” EP (scep507, 2022), Gerardo Frisina’s new double record “Joyful Sound” represents another step forward on his ongoing travel towards new musical paths. Joyful sounds narrate a journey made of wisely distilled notes, bright and sometimes mysterious atmospheres, harmonies that wander through shadows, silences, and lights. A chameleonic Gerardo enchants with every release, mixing jazz, Latin, Afro-Cuban sounds, oriental fragrances, electronic beats, tribal percussions, funky variations and, to summarize, elegant symphonic arrangements with refined mastery. “Joyful Sound” once again sees the participation of the late Enzo Frassi (double bass), Fabrizio Bernasconi (piano, Rhodes), Gendrickson Mena (trumpet, piano), Alfonso Deidda (sax, flute) and Ernesto Lopez (drums, percussion), with the addition of Piero Perelli on drums and Giovanni Guerretti on piano, Hammond and Rhodes. This new record, carefully orchestrated and produced by Gerardo, required over a year of intense work, however it is worth every second of its 75 minutes of music. As the great Charles Mingus once said, “Play it in the key of your soul”. Without a doubt, Gerardo always gives his soul in full!

“Frisina meets Toco” is the result of the artistic union of two main Schema Records’ characters, Gerardo Frisina and Toco, spontaneously born from many listening sessions of Brazilian music LP’s. The music contained in this 12” record stands in the middle between Rio and Bahia, merging together the Brazilian rhythmic culture and groove (Toco) with the modern sound of clubbing latin jazz (Frisina), and it’s also enriched by the presence of the young pianist and composer Vitor Araújo and his peculiar signature style, particularly apparent in the instrumental version of the song “Craque”.

Schema Records’ musician and producer Gerardo Frisina has certainly got the ability to play his own distinctive style without being repetitive, and this record is no exception. His skills in working with strong percussive and tribal elements have now delivered us this brand new collaboration with Schema songwriter Toco, the result of various artistic meetings in our offices, spontaneously born from many listening sessions of Brazilian music LP’s. The music contained in this 12” record stands in the middle between Rio and Bahia, merging together the Brazilian rhythmic culture and groove (Toco) with the modern sound of clubbing latin jazz (Frisina); the most observant will surely recognize a strong link in its cover artwork with the legendary 1965 LP “Em Forma!” by Bossa Três. “Frisina meets Toco” is also enriched by the presence of the young pianist and composer Vitor Araújo, whose signature style is especially noticeable in the instrumental version of the song “Craque”, which suddenly breaks in the middle and showcases a piano solo section that will leave you breathless! Another impressive effort from two of the most creative and revered Schema Records artists! - - - Gerardo Frisina, musicista e produttore di punta della Schema Records, ha senza dubbio la capacità di infondere il proprio personalissimo stile nelle sue opere, senza per questo risultare ripetitivo o ridondante, e questa release non fa eccezione. Le sue capacità nel manipolare elementi fortemente percussivi e tribali hanno dato vita a questa nuova collaborazione con il cantautore Toco, anch’egli di casa presso Schema Records: un lavoro nato spontaneamente da diversi incontri tra i due, e da svariati ascolti di LP di musica brasiliana. La musica contenuta in questo 12” è geograficamente a cavallo tra Rio e Bahia, e miscela la cultura del ritmo e del groove brasiliano (Toco) con il sound moderno del latin jazz da club (Frisina); l’interlocutore più attento saprà inoltre riconoscere un forte legame visuale con il leggendario LP “Em Forma!” dei Bossa Três. “Frisina meets Toco” è inoltre impreziosito dalla presenza del giovane pianista e compositore Vitor Araújo, il cui inconfondibile stile è particolarmente in evidenza nella versione strumentale del brano “Craque”, che si interrompe improvvisamente a metà per lasciare spazio a un assolo di piano che vi lascerà senza fiato! Un altro eccellente lavoro firmato da due tra i più creativi e significativi artisti Schema Records!