Savoldelli, Boris

Biocosmopolitan

Label: MoonJune Country: USA

"Boris Savoldelli's new release is a tour-de-force of vocal artistry. Featuring brilliant contributions from rising trumpet star Paolo Fresu and fusion bass legend Jimmy Haslip (Yellowjackets; Allan Holdsworth), Biocosmopolitan is an exquisitely-crafted sound palette -- replete with elaborate harmonies, interlocking rhythms, and a panoply of globe-spanning musical influences, both old and new.

Boris's deft use of looping creates a rich tapestry of choral, instrumental, and percussion sounds that truly defy description. Biocosmopolitan already has critics around the globe singing its' praises.

Unlike Protoplasmic (MoonJune Records' MJR025) -- an improvised outing that explored what Boris refers to as his "dark side" -- Biocosmopolitan is a much more fun, exuberant and accessible affair, presenting the most complete portrait of Savoldelli as singer, composer, arranger, and sound manipulator to date.

ARTIST PROFILE

Savoldelli is a great vocal performer with a brilliant personality. He's always been in love with his "vocal instrument" and its extraordinary possibilities.

Boris loves to find different original ways of singing, due to his very different backgrounds, from classical studies until jazz singing (thanks to his mentor Mark Murphy), passing from funk-rock to avant-garde experimental approaches.

In these last few years he starts a collaboration with the Deconstructing Metajazz Band SADO and released the album Holzwege (2008 - AMS/BTF), but the most representative of Boris' work is the album titled INSANOLOGY, an experimental vocal solo project -- composed, arranged and recorded using only a looper machine and no musical instruments (with the exception of two tracks, which feature the adventurous Marc Ribot on guitars).

INSANOLOGY obtained many flattering reviews from all around the world (Italy, USA, Brazil, France, UK, Holland, Russia, Germany, Israel, etc.). In December 2008, in his "Jazz Poll 2008", the producer-critic Arnaldo DeSouteiro (producer of Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin and Joao Gilberto) put "Insanology" in the 10 best vocal jazz music albums of the year, and placed Boris in the category of "Best Male Jazz Vocalists" in third position, after Tony Bennet and Al Jarreau. Boris did lots of gigs in many different places, one of the most important taking place in September of 2008 -- with Elliott Sharp as a special guest, at "The Stone" (John Zorn is the artistic director of this venue), considered "the temple" of avant-garde music in New York.

The "Insanology Vocal Solo Tour" toured the USA and Italy, continuing through Russia and Ukraine (MuzEnergo Festival and DoDj Interrnational Jazz Festival) in March & April 2009. His international record debut is also on MoonJune Records (MJR025): a duet album with Elliott Sharp, Protoplasmic, released in 2009."-MoonJune Records

"What a contrast Boris Savoldelli's Biocosmopolitan is to the vocalist's predecessor, Protoplasmic (MoonJune Records, 2009), which featured guitarist Elliot Sharp as his chief collaborator. While Protoplasmic was a brave dive into the experimental, Biocosmopolitan is a bright, infectious and singable work. The right balance of passion, delivery, and technology come together for 16 enjoyable tracks with brevity a main device, employed by Savoldelli, that helps maintain a constant sense of movement and flow.

"The style is a sort of "modern sentimental." The lyrics bounce between English and Italian, and the basic mood is an upbeat one. Other than Savoldelli's vocals, vocal effects and piano, electric bassist Jimmy Haslip performs on the title track, while trumpeter/flugelhornist Paolo Fresu appears on "Concrete Clima" and "Kerouac In New York City." It is Savoldelli's multilayered vocals, though, that make him sound like an urban choral orchestra.

"There is an absolute sense of humor flowing through the majority of the songs. Whether it be the sound effects of rain, the clapping hands of a crowd, or a scratchy LP record effect on a turntable accompanying the vocals, there is never a dull moment. The CD's only gray mood might be found in Savoldelli's English and Italian versions of "Biocosmo," which suggest some affection for the music of Radiohead. Jimi Hendrix's "Crosstown Traffic" is a welcome bonus track that grooves, surprisingly, without any guitar.

"Move over Bobby McFerrin, Take 6, and Norah Jones; with Biocosmopolitan, Boris Savoldelli has moved to the front of the line."-Mark Redlefsen, All About Jazz