I've known Roberto Magris since the start of this blog in 2007. Roberto is an Italian pianist-composer who was born in Trieste, and fell in love with jazz after hearing Oscar Peterson's 1977 album, The Way I Really Play. As many readers know, all it takes is one superb album for jazz to win you over.
Roberto's new hard-bop album is Freedom Is Peace (JMood), recorded live in Bad Goisern, Austria, in April 2024. The artists on stage were a rough and tough bunch—Roberto Magris (p), Lukáš Oravec (tp), Tony Lakatos (ts,ss), Florian Bramböck (bs), Rudi Engel (b) and Gašper Bertoncelj (d). These guys come to play. [Photo above of Roberto Magris]
If there's a patron saint hovering over the album's music, it's McCoy Tyner. The music churns with Roberto delivering Tyner's modal flourish and bombastic attack, and the arrangements follow suit. But the music isn't wild and wooly; it's tight and superbly arranged, and comes with a wailing edge. Smart liner notes by Bill Milkowski.
The tracks
- Freedom Is Peace (Roberto Magris)
- The Island of Nowhere (Magris)
- Malay Tone Poem (Hotep Idris Galeta)
- Laverne (Andrew Hill)
- Something to Save From EU (You) (Magris)
- When You Touch Me (Boaz Sharabi)
- Loose Fit (Magris)
- Hip! For the Conference (Magris)
What makes Roberto special is his high energy level and tender heart. On Freedom Is Peace, he balances muscle with a delicate feel, and the musicians in his Europlane sextet are equally ferocious and poetic. Roberto's album is a reminder that some of the world's most serious jazz is now being made outside of the U.S. A must own.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Freedom Is Peace (JMood) here or on streaming platforms.
JazzWax clips: Here's Freedom Is Peace...
Here's Loose Fit...
And here's Laverne...
