CD ECM Records Stefano Bollani: Piano Solo

2006

Stefano Bollani - pian

“Piano solo” is a modest title for this encylopaedic recital that romps through the history of jazz and more, and which, in its rapid-fire, quick-witted turnover of ideas, reveals a unique musical personality. Italian pianist Bollani (born 1972) is a major talent, armed with prodigious technique. A taste of this will already have been gleaned from his contributions to Enrico Rava’s “Easy Living” and “Tati” but here his imagination roams widely indeed. Bollani plays a Scott Joplin rag, improvises freely, plays tango music from the early 20th century, plays standards, plays his own compositions. He plays the Beach Boys’ “Don’t Talk” and tunes made famous by Louis Armstrong and Nat King Cole. He improvises on a theme from Prokofiev’s First Piano Concerto... And: he makes this whirlwind journey through the genres seem both logical and necessary.

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Stereoplay - Die Audiophile; Consigliato da Musica Jazz

This is a beautifully balanced set and Bollani’s best record to date. … These 16 tracks run the gamut emotionally and stylistically but there’s a coherence and consistency that now goes beyond the clever and starts to touch upon the profound. Italian pop songs such as the lovely “Antonia” and “A Media Luz” rub shoulders with a clutch of standards including a perfect “On The Street Where You Live” and a handful of improvisations, one on a theme by Prokofiev. If that starts to sound like some kind of post-modern bricolage, don’t worry, if the musical idea is strong enough the artist remains visible.
Duncan Heining, Jazzwise

The total impression is not of disjointedness, however, but of unfurling surprises. In holding all but three of the 16 pieces to under five minutes, Bollani combines equal measures of rigour and poetry in his improvising and his touch on a Steinway has glistening highlights flecking the tops of the notes, adding a layer of wonder to all he plays.
John Shand, Sydney Morning Herald

Bollani’s leader debut as a solo pianist is a fine account of this gifted, classically trained player’s multifaceted spirit. Never one to hedge his bets, Bollani finds fertile ground in standards, ragtime, Italian, Latin and Beach Boys songs, his own delightful originals, Prokofiev and free improvisation. His harmonic language is full of lovely surprises, his time impeccable, his touch wonderfully expressive, and his inventiveness always informed by an innate sense of structure. Ray Comiskey, Irish Times