As a follow-up to his most
personal project to date, 2015's KOI, in-demand Italian session bassist and
RareNoise recording artist Lorenzo Feliciati has upped the ante on his latest
project, Elevator Man. A powerhouse recording with echoes of King Crimson,
Allan Holdsworth and other Prog Rock icons, this latest outing by the prolific
bassist-composer-arranger features a rotating cast of stellar musicians,
including King Crimson drummer Pat Mastelotto, former Holdsworth drummer Chad
Wackerman, Swedish Freak Guitar shredder Mattias IA Eklundh (of the Jonas
Hellborg Trio and Art Metal), Italian progressive metal guitarist Marco Sfogli
(currently of the legendary Italian Prog Rock band Premiata Forneria Marconi,
aka PFM), trumpeter Cuong Vu and Feliciati's Naked Truth bandmate Roy Powell on
distortion-laced clavinet. As well as composing and arranging all the material,
Feliciati plays fretted and fretless basses, electric guitar and keyboards on his
seventh and most potent recording as a leader to date "Elevator Man has a
different lineup on every song," explains Feliciati, a member of RareNoise
bands Naked Truth, Berserk!, Twinscapes and Mumpbeak. "It's the same 'one
song-one line up' philosophy that I used on Frequent Flyer, but this time all
the music for Elevator Man was composed at the same time, in a three-month
period. So I was probably able to concentrate more and think more deeply about
the direction of the album. And while a varied stylistic approach is something
I always try to achieve, this one has a more clear Prog Rock flavor that was a
planned decision. After KOI, I felt the need to move from the
soundtrack-ambient soundscapes attitude that is a crucial ingredient of both
KOI and Twinscapes, my duo project with bassist Colin Edwin of Porcupine Tree,
to a more songs-oriented project."
From the opening track, "Elevator Man," Feliciati
shifts to the dynamic "The Brick," "14 Stories opens with an
ambient, mysterioso vibe the top before the piece erupts into an orchestral
crescendo. The melancholy ballad "Black Book, Red Letter," also
highlights some lyrical trumpet playing and some impassioned soloing from the
alto saxophonist. The aggressive rocker "Three Women" has Feliciati
grooving on fretless bass while "Unchained Houdini" is a slamming jam
that pits Feliciati's bass, guitar and keys against some whirlwind wailing on
the kit. "The Third Door" has Feliciati going mano-a-mano with a
turntable wizard while "S.O.S." introduces a mellow vibraphone and an
intense guitarist. The swinging "Thief Like Me," features a strong
bass solo from Feliciati, who also anchors the proceedings on Moog bass. And
the haunting closer, "U Turn in Falmouth," has Feliciati interacting
on bass, guitars and keyboards. "The power to have these great musicians
ready to play on the songs forced me to be a more focused composer on this
project," said Feliciati. "So this one is less on the abstract/improvised
side. When you have so many amazing musicians ready to collaborate with you,
you are the luckiest person in the world but you must have a very clear idea of
what you will ask them to play on, what you want them to add to your
music."
Feliciati, who has worked with some of the great drummers
throughout his career, seemed especially pleased with the crew of time-keepers
he was able to recruit for Elevator Man. "I love drums and drummers and to
have such great players on this album as Pat Mastelotto (King Crimson,
Stickmen), Chad Wackerman, Roberto Gualdi (PFM), Davide Pettirossi, Armando
Croce, Gianluca Palmieri (Greg Howe Band) and the young star Davide Savarese is
such a wonderful privilege. To compose some music and have so many choices in
front of you is wonderful. And to realize that everyone involved is
enthusiastic and willing to collaborate is truly fantastic."
He also heaped high praise on the two sensational guitarists
who appear on Elevator Man. "Marco Sfogli is a great friend of mine and we
played together several times," explains Feliciati. "I played on his
latest solo album. Mattias Ecklundh did a masterclass at the school where I was
teaching in Rome. I asked to do some music together and he enthusiastically
agreed. I was happy when he agreed to play on this record."
Returning from KOI is the three-piece horn section of
trombonist Pierluigi Bastioli, baritone saxophonist Duiliu Ingress and bass
trombonist Stan Adams, who also arranged and conducted the section. "The
idea for the horns came while working on KOI, where the same three-piece
section plays on several tracks," Feliciati explains. "I was
wondering about doubling the bass riffs with a horn section on that recording
but I immediately understood that a funky-jazzy section of trumpet/sax/trombone
would have been too conventional or traditional sounding. So I switched to this
low-end section consisting of bass trombone, trombone and baritone sax, and the
final result was so good I immediately decided to use them on some of the songs
of Elevator Man."
The bassist-composer-arranger describes his daily creative
process that has led to the realization of such visionary projects as Frequent
Flyer, Koi and Elevator Man: "I love to wake up early in the morning, have
breakfast with family and then walk upstairs to my home studio and ask myself,
'What do you like to work on today?' I always had a home studio and the
technology related to recording (software like ProTools, etc.) became way less
expensive. This way I can work on different projects at the same time,
switching from one to another; not to mention all the sessions I do at home for
music that arrives via Dropbox from all over the world, People want me on their
music and with the files-exchange approach they can have my bass track on their
album easily and fast."
The great bassist also acknowledges the towering influence
of Jaco Pastorius on his own playing and on this recording, particularly on
"Elevator Man", "S.O.S." and "Black Book, Red
Letter." Says Feliciati of Jaco's influence: "For me you can easily
divide not only bass playing but also Jazz Rock Fusion in before Jaco/after
Jaco segments. The influence he had on my love for the bass and music is
endless. I saw Weather Report in 1980 in Rome on their Night Passage tour. That
night changed my life. I decided to play the bass after that because I realized
how much the instrument can drive a band and be the center of the sonic
spectrum. If the song, the music needed one note, Jaco was playing one
note...if the song needed one hundred he was playing the right ones the most
soulful ones and with such an incredible timing and groove. But I really love
Jaco the composer. And of all the wonderful tunes he wrote and played, the one
that is touching me the most is still 'John and Mary' from his Word of Mouth
album. Together with Night Passage and Joni Mitchell's Shadows and Light, these
are timeless classics.
That Pastorius influence is present throughout Elevator Man.
But Feliciati also carves out his own unique niche on this superb prog-rock
flavored outing.
TRACKS AND PERSONNEL
1. Elevator Man
Lorenzo Feliciati - fretted and fretless bass, electric
guitars, keyboards
Roberto Gualdi - drums
Stan Adams - trombone and horn section arrangement
Pierluigi Bastioli - bass trombone
Duilio Ingrosso - baritone saxophone
2. The Brick
Lorenzo Feliciati - fretted bass
Roy Powell - hohner
clavinet
Chad Wackerman - drums
Stan Adams - trombone and horn section arrangement
Pierluigi Bastioli - bass trombone
Duilio Ingrosso - baritone sax
3. 14 Stones
Lorenzo Feliciati - fretted bass, electric guitars,
keyboards
Cuong Vu - trumpet
Alessandro Gwis - acoustic piano with Reaktor running on
laptop
Pat Mastelotto - drums
Stan Adams - trombone and horn section arrangement
Pierluigi Bastioli - bass trombone
Duilio Ingrosso - baritone sax
4. Black Book, Red Letters
Lorenzo Feliciati - upright bass, fretted bass with effects
Sandro Satta - alto sax
Claudio Corvini - trumpet
Gianni Di Renzo - drums
5. Three Women
Lorenzo Feliciati -
fretless bass, electric guitars, keyboards
Cuong Vu - trumpet
Antonio Jasevoli - electric guitar solo
Davide Savarese - drums
Stan Adams - trombone and horn section arrangement
Pierluigi Bastioli - bass trombone
Duilio Ingrosso - baritone sax
6. Unchained Houdini
Lorenzo Feliciati - fretted bass, electric guitars,
keyboards
Davide Pettirossi - drums
7. The Third Door
Lorenzo Feliciati - fretless bass, electric guitars,
keyboards
DJ Skizo - turntables & rhythm design
8. S.O.S.
Lorenzo Feliciati - fretted and fretless bass, electric
guitars, keyboards
Mattias IA Eklundh - electric guitar solo
Luca Giacobbe - vibraphone
Armando Croce - drums
9. Thief Like Me
Lorenzo Feliciati - fretted bass, moog bass
Marco Sfogli - electric guitars
Aidan Zammit - keyboards
Gianluca Plamieri - drums
10. U Turn in Falmouth
Lorenzo Feliciati - fretted bass, electric guitars,
Keyboards
Davide Savarese - drums
All tracks composed, arranged and produced by Lorenzo
Feliciati, except 'The Brick' composed by Roy Powell.
Mixed by Alessandro Marcantoni at Metropolis studio, Milan.
Mastered by Michael Fossenkemper at Turtletone Studios, NYC.
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