The Hot Club Of Tenerife (named after an island in Spain) is led by Italian guitarist Filippo Dall’Asta. He began playing guitar when he was five, fell in love with the music and style of Django Reinhardt, and in his career has worked all over Europe in a variety of settings including with Stochelo Rosenberg. While his previous recording, Mediterasian, had many instrumentalists including musicians on tabla and sitar, his new album The Hot Club Of Tenerife utilizes a more conventional instrumentation with the group consisting of its leader, clarinetist Kepa Martinez, rhythm guitarist Yeray Herrera, bassist Agustin Buenafuente, and drummer Fernando Angulo. On “Not Yet, Sofia,” one of Dall’Asta’s four originals, a string quartet is added.
The main soloists throughout are Dall’Asta and clarinetist Martinez. One naturally feels the influence of Django Reinhardt and clarinetist Hubert Rostaing but there is no strict copying, Dall’Asta is inventive in the Gypsy jazz tradition and Martinez is quite fluent and has his own sound. The arrangements and frameworks are consistently colorful with occasional surprises. Most unusual is “Cherokee” which has a wordless group vocal in the melody with the bridge being taken in waltz time before it becomes a cooking feature for Martinez.
Other highlights include a swinging “After You’ve Gone,” the guitarist’s charming waltz “Not Yet, Sofia,” and the warm ballad “Nico’s Dream” that one could imagine Django playing in the late 1940s. Many of the songs are given abstract introductions that barely hint at the melody but the themes then quickly emerge. The only misfire is an out-of-place Bobby Vinton pop song “Lonely” that has a Martinez vocal. But the nine songs that precede that closer all have their bright and fun moments.
The Hot Club Of Tenerife
Filippo DallÁsta
www.filippodallasta.com
