THOLLEM / SCODANIBBIO – On Debussy’s Piano And…

Die Schachtel

That this is a meeting of virtuosos is quite evident, as both Thollem Mcdonas and Stefano Scodanibbio need no introduction to affirm that their reputation of master improvisers is totally deserved. A mix of restraint, lucidity, sudden bursts of fervour and scents of earlier eras defines the duo, making us forget about the merely technical aspects of this union. Play the CD one, two, ten times, and each experience is going to be revealing for a series of reasons. First of all the type of recording, which does not exactly focus on the minute details, privileging instead a sort of “omnipresence of the natural reverberation” which attributes an absolutely magic aura to the interplay. Scodanibbio’s nonconformist, and yet so “classic” incursions in the mechanisms and most internal responses of the double bass is still an awesome listen, and an essential object of observation for students. His ever-alert, albeit serene arco sapience rides through Mcdonas’ implausibly elegiac legerdemain, light touches and unlocked cascades of chords and notes at the basis of an improvisational system which was “devised for the occasion” by the pianist. Add the special flavour given by the utilization of an instrument once played by Claude Debussy (now preserved in Brive-La-Gaillarde, France), and what you’ve got is a record that starts as nearly impenetrable but slowly grows to expose a work of art, a case in which the spirit of the music prevails on anything else: when the first seconds of the heartrending “Dreaming Of Dreaming” materialize, everything connects.