AprilCadence2013

I COMPANI
GARBO (AND OTHER
GODESSES OF
CINEMA) / TANGO
AND IMPRO
I COMPANI DISC 1202/03
DISC 1: GARBO: ET DIEU…
CREA LA FEMME / TEMPO
PARADOX / BARDOT /
DANZA SACRA / A DIVA
ON EVERY CORNER / ECCO
/ DIVA CAPRICCIOSA /
BARBARELLA / GARBO / LE
NOTTI BIANCHE / VAMP /
SUN RA / MAE WEST.
DISC 2 = TANGO AND
IMPRO: FIRST TANGO IN
PARIS / BRAND / MUSIC
FOR MARIA SCHNEIDER /
FRANCIS BACON /
WHY DID SHE CHOOSE YOU
/ NO TANGO 2 / LAST TANGO
IN PARIS: TANGO AND JAZZ /
LAST TANGO IN PARIS: FINAL
/ LE NOTTI DI SAN LORENZO
/ SLEEP WELL. TOTAL TIME:
122:20.
Bo van de Graaf –
saxophones; Jeroen
Doomernik – tpt; Hans Sparla
– tbn (Garbo only) Christoph
MacCarty – p, synth, vcl;
Michel Mulder – bandoneon;
New Issues
122 | CadenCe Magazine | april May June 2013
I Compani is an ensemble that was formed in the mid
80s by saxophonist / composer Bo van de Graaf, Their
original mission was to perform the music of Italian
composer Nino Rota, best known for his soundtracks to
Fellini's films. But the idea soon evolved beyond that,
mixing in original material and music by other composers.
Today nearly 30 years old, the ensemble specializes
in various pieces, many of them still film-based, mostly
composed by van de Graaf but other members of the
ensemble contribute as well. The music draws from a
large number of sources including jazz (of all stripes),
European classical, Latin, film music. But the influences
never come out as contrived or stilted. The personnel
has changed dramatically since their first release but
under van de Graaf's vision and guidance, I Compani
has remained a creative and singular ensemble.
Their latest release, Garbo is a double disc set of two
completely different but related programs.
The first disc consists of a suite entitled Diva, a homage
to the female icons of the silver screen, including
Brigitte Bardot, Jeanne Moreau, Mae West and, of course
the greatest of them all, Greta Garbo. (It's appropriate
the album is named after her.) Brief snatches of dialogue
appear throughout the disc and it's surprising how
distinctive and recognizable the voices are. van de Graaf
emphasizes how the voice was as much a part of the
alluring mystique of these actresses as their physical
attributes.
The suite opens with an arrangement by bassist Arjen
Gorter of themes from Paul Misraki's
music for Vadim's Bardot classic And God Created
Women. It's just the type of thing the ex-Willem
Breuker Kollektief member excels at, a multi-sectioned
piece with abrupt shifting tempos and moods. The
band delivers the complex chart with verve and it's a
great opener. Most of the compositions are by van de
Graaf with the exception of the aforementioned Misraki
arrangement, a borrowed Verdi theme,
a Rota composition (for Visconti's White Night) and a
superb piece by drummer Rob Verdurmen "A
Diva On Every Corner", a lovely ballad, mostly in 7/4, that
periodically switches meters and tempos. It's
clear from van de Graaf's compositions that he has a
wide view of music. "Diva Capricciosa", a feature