Also from the ranks of the Berklee faculty comes Giovanni Moltoni, whose Openground (C Sharp Squared) also features fellow professors bassist Paul Del Nero and drummer Bob Tamagni. Moltoni’s often-inventive original compositions provide a forum for his progressive harmonies, which he describes as airy and open. The majority of the tunes are trio numbers, including the ominously grooving “Altered Fill” and “Blues for Sale,” which, despite its occasional cuteness, tends to grow on you as it unfolds. Along the way, Moltoni gets in two solo guitar pieces: “Sometimes I Will,” a bossa nova that is both laid-back and kinetic, and “White & Blue,” a study in arpeggios with some nice surprises. Despite the apparent theoretical basis of Moltoni’s music, it’s creative and frequently infectious, a treat for the heart and mind alike.
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