Search - Franco Ambrosetti :: Movies

Movie tunes transformed into compelling modern jazz

J. Levinson | Media, PA USA | 06/23/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"An eclectic selection of movie tunes are transformed into creative and compelling modern jazz by Franco and company. Ambrosetti's fluegelhorn is the primary lead voice, yet he grants his talented accompianists ample room to expand on the basic structures.
Franco blows a long, flowing passage on "Summertime" that displays enviable breath control. An eight-and-a-half minute exploratory voyage on "Yellow Submarine" lets John Scofield cruise with a typically angular solo, then Michael Formanek dives down to the depths with a powerful bass solo, and finally Ambrosetti repeats the opening figure to signal them back to the surface.
"Chan's Song" features a searching solo by Franco, underpinned by Geri Allen's delicate yet precise piano comping. Franco's switch to trumpet and Jerry Gonzales' percussion push "That Old Black Magic" into Latino-Caribbean voodoo territory. Daniel Humair's drums drive the band hard across the Western plains on Elmer Bernstein's grand theme from "The Magnificent Seven", with Gonzales' percussion providing the South-of-the-border spice."