 |
| (© RAI) |
I first became aware of Stefano Bollani 20 years ago, when I
heard him play in the quintet led by trumpeter Enrico Rava. It was clear then that Bollani had an
outstanding talent and that he and Rava had a strong rapport. This became even more evident when I saw them
perform as a duo a few years later, promoting their album for ECM, The Third Man. In the meantime, Bollani’s career was
flourishing, through both collaborations with the likes of Chick Corea, Phil
Woods and Paul Motian, and a wide range of projects in his own right. Seeing Bollani in a solo piano gig sometime
afterwards, I was struck not only by his virtuosity but also by his extrovert
nature – a real showman.
So, perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised to learn that he
now co-presents a TV show. But I was
amazed to discover that this show currently goes out five days a week at prime
time on one of Italy’s main channels (RaiTre).
The title of the show, Via dei Matti, n. 0, which translates as
“Crazy Street, Number Zero”, refers to an Italian nursery rhyme of the same
name. Bollani and his wife Valentina
Cenni chat, play music, and welcome musicians from many genres.
According to the RaiPlay website, each episode is based on a
different topic related to music: intriguing anecdotes, stories intertwined
with philosophical reflections which give shape to a new musical universe where
there are no distinctions between genres and, above all, no limits on thought. This might sound highfaluting, but in fact
the programmes flow easily and are very entertaining. For example, a recent episode I watched
whilst in Italy focused on dreams and surrealism. Bollani and Cenni discussed Erik Satie’s collaboration
with Pablo Picasso for the ballet Parade and Bollani played an extract from
Satie’s Ragtime du Paquebot. The
presenters also spoke about Joan Miró’s love for jazz and his meeting in 1966
with his idol, Duke Ellington - unfortunately, neither man understood the
other’s language!
To date, there have been more than 100 episodes, featuring jazz
musicians such as trumpeters Paolo Fresu and Fabrizio Bosso; saxophonists
Stefano Di Battista and Rosario Giuliani; clarinettist Gabriele Mirabassi;
trombonist Gianluca Petrella; vocalists Sarah Jane Morris and Barbara Casini; pianists
Dado Moroni and Danilo Rea; percussionist Trilok Gurtu; and drummers Jeff
Ballard and Roberto Gatto. Many Italian
pop and classical musicians, as well as actors, have also appeared as guests. Critical reaction to the show has been
overwhelmingly positive. The leading
Italian newspaper Corriere
della Sera describes it as “a rare pearl of Rai
programming”. According to another
leading paper, La
Repubblica, “you should go and live in Crazy Street, Number Zero”.
I’ve left the best news to last: you don’t need to go to
Italy to watch the show! All episodes
are available here. A knowledge of Italian would enable you to
get the most from the programmes, but – even without that – there’s much to be
enjoyed from the musical performances. Some
of these are also available as stand-alone videos; for example, here’s a link
to Bollani and Ballard playing Monk’s Bye-Ya* and the blues Second Line.
So, come on BBC, ITV, or Channel 4 – why can’t we have the same kind of prime time show in the UK? With a North East connection in mind, how about having Paul Edis at the piano and vocals from Jo Harrop? Or, thinking back to their entertaining living room gigs during lockdown, Zoë Gilby on vocals and Andy Champion on double bass could take centre stage. As La Repubblica points out, it’s ridiculous to think about how much has been spent on the creation of absurd TV formats; rather, “peace of mind can always be found with a small idea and able people, to create a show characterised by dignity and talent”. Colin Muirhead
* The song was incorrectly listed as Epistrophy during the show; Bollani later corrected this.
1 comment :
we are proud of this program, thank you for your flattering comment
Post a Comment