Bosco De ‘Medici is a company that tries to join two worlds: the traditional of a Roman antiquity and a present that requires continuous innovation and experimentation. For this reason, the musical combination chosen by Ritmodivino could only be “The Bridge” by Sonny Rollins
“The Bridge”
The Bridge of Sonny Rollins is a true Bridge, the Williamsburg of New York, where it seems that Sonny Rollins used to practice the saxophone.
The recording of the album reveals that the withdrawal from the scenes of Rollins was the arrival to a greater mastery and awareness of its expressive means.
The bridge, therefore, is a kind of symbol: that of overcoming a period of labor.
In his career, Sonny Rollins has always been a musician who suffered the contaminations and influences of the historical period in which he lived.
In his previous works, one can hear the influences of his 1940s master Coleman Hawkins and the more revolutionary Ornette Coleman.
The meeting with the latter imposed the long pause for reflection from which the work of “The Bridge” would derive.
Despite the influence of Ornette Coleman, who imposed absolute freedom in phrasing and melodies, in “The Bridge” we are far from the “creative chaos” of certain free-jazz records.
Sonny allows himself – in fact – a balance between traditional jazz structures and a type of hardbop phrasing that has always distinguished him, keeping his sound clear and warm.
A further factor of equilibrium is given – then – by the choice of the components that have collaborated on the recording of the album: the versatility of the guitarist Jim Hall stands out among the others, who takes on the rhythmic and melodic functions normally delegated to the piano.
Also valuable are the contributions of bassist Bob Cranshaw and drummer Ben Riley, two friends and collaborators of all time Rollins.
Unexpected, however, is the association with Jim Hall.
The latter, capable of accompanying Rollins in his solos but – at the same time – able to demonstrate those clear and defined bop phrasing skills, can easily be considered the second soloist of this masterpiece.
From the Williamsburg bridge to the ancient Pompeii
The similarities with the work of the friends of Bosco de ‘Medici are clear.
As Rollins, in fact, looked at a past that was part of his musical education, merging it with new styles, so the company of Pompeii managed to fish in the traditional past of the city’s history, uniting it with a look at a future that – in world of wine – no longer accepts compromises.
