This is yet another proof that jazz and blues have become a universal language. Roots Magic is an Italian quartet that plays the Blues. To be precise, it’s a sort of Avant-Garde Blues. Alberto Popolla – clarinets; Errico Defabritiis – alto sax; Gianfranco Tedeschi – double bass; Fabrizio Spera drums; and guest Luca Venitucci – organ. The album contains two tracks by members of the band, but the majority of the content is composed of covers. Some tracks are from the Delta Blues repertoire (Blind Willie Johnson and Charley Patton), and they were given to unusual arrangements. Others were composed by Free Jazz musicians. Musicians like Julius Hemphill and Phil Cohran, Sun Ra, Olu Dara and John Carter and Roots Magic extract the blues from it. It’s a brilliant idea, and the results are amazing. Multiple pictures include open-form ballads, Afrofunk numbers, and high-energy free-jazz. Maybe only non-African-Americans could manipulate the tradition like this, but it does sound American. We live in a global village, and history isn’t something you should keep at a museum. from https://cleanfeed-records.com
