Born in Italy in January 1972, Sergio Armaroli is a jazz and improvising musician who has played a variety of percussion instruments, composes, as well as being a visual artist. His earliest album, released under his own name, was Early Alchemy which was studio-recorded in 2007 and released in 2012 on Dodicilune, an Italian label which has released the lion's share of his albums; on that album he was credited with playing bass drum and marimba as well as composing it all. Gradually Armaroli branched out and recorded for other notable labels including Leo, Ictus, Da Vinci Classics and, from 2020, ezz-thetics by Hat Hut, Ltd.
Studio-recorded in Milan in September 2023, Introducing A Very Heavy Person is performed by Armaroli on vibraphone, Elliot Sharp on guitar or soprano saxophone, Steve Piccolo on speech and electronic devices, John Edwards on double bass and Mark Sanders on drums — collectively known as Sergio Armaroli Quintet but with a line-up which only retains Armaroli from the quintet that recorded To Play Standard(s) Amnesia (Dodiculune, 2017). The 2023 version of the quintet is ideally suited to the music on the album, the Americans Sharp and Piccolo being familiar with Armaroli, the three having recorded Blue in Mind (Leo, 2020) as a trio. The British pair, Edwards and Sanders, had no previous experience with the Italian, but their time with Evan Parker may have come to Armaroli's attention, particularly as he and Parker recorded Dialog (ezz-thetics, 2023) as a duo.
Although Piccolo is credited with speech and electronics, in practice his combined speeches just exceed one minute of the album's sixty-nine and comprise short snippets which were used to briefly introduce the album's tracks. Piccolo's electronics contribute rather more to the quintet's overall sound and ambience. Armaroli created melodic fragments for the quintet, saying the music is completely improvised. His vibraphone is ever present, underpinning and steering the music of the others. As is to be expected, Edwards and Sanders are just as vital to the quintet's sound and shape, playing the role of a conventional rhythm section but being far freer and adventurous. Of the five players, Sharp is the one most likely to attract listeners' attention; with soloes on soprano saxophone or guitar, he enlivens the music of the others and the whole quintet. Altogether, the album makes compulsive listening.
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