New Album: Vincenzo Virgillito, Precondition
Virtuosic bassist Vincenzo Virgillito on Precondition creates a solo program filled with intriguing originals.
Vincenzo Virgillito is a masterful musician, whether playing acoustic bass, electric bass, or Fretless five and four stringed basses. He has the ability to let the music breathe and tell its story while adding unusual sounds and colors that complement his lyrical statements.
On Precondition, Vincenzo is the only performer. Other than on the melancholy and hauntingly beautiful “Stars In The Mirror (my sons)”, he does not use any overdubbing. He utilizes his various basses and analog pedals to create colorful and thought-provoking music that grows in interest with each listen.
Starting with “Through Windows” which introduces his big sound on acoustic bass, Precondition includes originals like “Word Drops (Jaco’s Midnight)” which sounds as if Vincenzo is thinking aloud and the broody and atmospheric “Stars In The Mirror (my sons)”. The album progresses with Charles Mingus’ classic “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat”, played with warmth and understanding, the melodic but unpredictable “Segment” and an abstract but heartfelt version of “Danny Boy” that pays tribute to Bill Evans.
Like a metronome for the soul, the five “Reset” tracks punctuate the album blending together melodic statements with tonal and rockish distortions, making the listener stop and take stock between tracks. Contraposed to and together with the other tracks, they engender a portrayal of the inescapable opposition of two souls, one pushing forward and the other pausing to channel the momentum in new, inspired directions. Finally,“.. and then stop and go” closes the set with a dynamic and brief farewell which simultaneously serves as opening towards the future with its plethora of possibilities.
In his native Italy, Vincenzo Virgillito had extensive study of the classical and jazz double bass including at Istituto Musicale and Conservatorio di Musica.
He has since worked with Mater Matuta, the Portrait en Jazz M.diterran.en (2003–13), and in 2015 co-founded the group Unfired But Exploded. Vincenzo has recorded extensively as a studio musician, appeared at many European festivals, and excelled at Afro-Jazz, blues, r&b, rock, ethno pop, and classical music.
He has worked with many top European artists and ensembles in a wide variety of fields including as a member of the trio PJM which recorded “Global Warming” and “Portrait en Jazz M.diterran.en”.
Vincenzo Virgillito is an explorative and highly original bassist well worth discovering. His thought-provoking music on Precondition is an ideal place to start.
Visit online at www.vincenzovirgillito.com
