Monica Nica Agosti

SINGER | COMPOSER | IMPROVISER

Projects as Leader

Ornettiana

Monica ‘Nica’ Agosti  vocals     |    Tobia Bondesan  alto sax      |     Francesco Sarrini  doublebass      |     Tommaso Iacoviello  trumpet     |    Giuseppe Sardina drums
Top Jazz 2022
pic by Caterina Di Perri
pic by Caterina Di Perri
pic by Caterina Di Perri

ITA

Il riferimento a Ornette Coleman del nuovo quintetto di Monica Nica Agosti, “ShapeX” è evidente fin dal nome; non è solo la sintesi tra i titoli di due dischi importanti nella storia del sassofonista – il suo “The Shape Of Jazz to Come” e l’ardito “Song X” in collaborazione con Pat Metheny – ma evoca anche la visione musicale di tutti i giovani componenti del gruppo, i quali prediligono una musica libera da schemi, la cui forma non è univocamente etichettabile e incasellabile in uno stile definito, ma una ‘forma X’ appunto.
Ornettiana” lascia ampio spazio alla musica improvvisata a partire da composizioni per lo più originali, scritte appositamente per il progetto, e da alcuni brani selezionati di Coleman personalizzati e rivisitati.
Ornettiana” è il risultato di ciò che succede quando la musica ha totale libertà di esprimersi sotto ogni punto di vista: dinamica, pieni/vuoti, diverse combinazioni di strumenti e tecniche che i cinque conducono in perfetta armonia, danzando da una suggestione all’altra, sempre prestando molta cura al dettaglio e all’occupazione dello spazio musicale.
Nell’ottobre 2021 “Ornettiana” viene presentato in anteprima per il “Piacenza Jazz Fest” presso il “Milestone Jazz Club” di Piacenza per rendere omaggio a Coleman, nell’ambito di una intera giornata a lui totalmente dedicata e come concerto introduttivo alla proiezione del film biografico del 1985 “ORNETTE: MADE IN AMERICA” della regista statunitense Shirley Clarke e distribuito dalla Reading Bloom.
Questa musica è stata registrata ad Arezzo, al “Cicaleto Recording Studio” di Francesco Ponticelli ed è contenuta in un CD uscito per l’etichetta discografica Aut Records il 12 settembre 2022.
“Ornettiana” si aggiudica la medaglia d’argento nelle sezioni free improvisation e female vocalist ai Global Music Awards della California, edizione Ottobre 2022.
pic by Caterina Di Perri
ENG
The reference to Ornette Coleman in Monica ‘Nica’ Agosti’s new quintet “Shape X” is already evident from the name. It is not only a synthesis between the titles of two important records in the saxophonist’s history – his “The Shape Of Jazz to Come” and the daring “Song X” in collaboration with Pat Metheny – but it also evokes the musical vision of the young members of the group, who prefer a kind of music that is free from patterns, whose form cannot be labeled and pigeon-holed in a defined style but rather an ‘X shape’.
Ornettiana” leaves ample room for improvised music starting from mostly original compositions, written specifically for the project, and some personal takes on selected pieces by Coleman.
Ornettiana” is the result of what happens when music has total freedom to express itself from every point of view: dynamics, solid/void, different combinations of instruments and techniques that the five artists perform in perfect harmony, dancing from an inspiration to another, always paying great attention to detail and to the way the musical space is filled.
In October 2021 “Ornettiana” premiered as a tribute to Ornette Coleman at the “Milestone Jazz Club” for the “Piacenza Jazz Fest” , with the concert introducing a screening of 1985 biopic “ORNETTE: MADE IN AMERICA”, directed by Shirley Clarke and distributed by Reading Bloom.
This album was recorded in Arezzo, at Francesco Ponticelli’s “Cicaleto Recording Studio” and It was released in a CD for the Aut Records label on 12th September 2022.
“Ornettiana” received from California Global Music Awards’  silver medal honors by category free improvisation and  female vocalist, edition of October 2022.
Album Cover Art by Karen Minden

ORNETTIANA

Monica “Nica” Agosti  vocals
Tobia Bondesan  alto saxophone
Tommaso Iacoviello  trumpet
Francesco Sarrini  double bass
Giuseppe Sardina  drums, percussions, psaltery, bowed psaltery

CREDITS
Recorded, Mixed and Mastered by Francesco Ponticelli at “Cicaleto Recording Studio” in Arezzo on October 30th and 31st, 2021
Artwork and layout by Karen Minden
Produced by Monica Agosti and Aut Records
CONTACTS
Aut Records • Davide Lorenzon
press@autrecords.com
www.autrecords.com
To me, improvised creative music means expressing myself “in the moment”. We live in the illusion of our daily routine, but we don’t know what the future holds. Each day only happens once, and the real challenge is learning to live in the present moment, here and now. This album was inspired by this concept and by the great Ornette Coleman, whose music is an ideal paradigm between his creativity and other musicians’, with total respect for both. I believe that, as individuals, we grow by accepting other people and their views as they provide new input and awareness.
Similarly, music gets richer thanks to the free, democratic contribution of the musicians who participate. Everyone’s voice is valued and enhanced, adding to the others into a harmonious or “harmolodic” whole, as Ornette would call it. These principles also guided my choice of the musicians I wanted with me, with whom I share a profound musical and human harmony: Tobia Bondesan on sax, Tommaso Iacoviello on trumpet, Francesco Sarrini on double bass, Giuseppe Sardina on drums. This album would not have been possible without them, and I am immensely grateful to them for trusting me and the project. (Monica Agosti)
pic by Angelo Bardini
Ascolta il podcast della puntata di “All That Jazz” andata in onda su Radio Onda d’Urto in cui Paolo Bruno intervista Monica Nica Agosti sul suo nuovo progetto “Ornettiana”.

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