#1 - Falga (2015)
Line up:
@giuseppedoronzotorarec - baritone saxophone
Lucio Tasca - guitar
@federico_pozzer - piano
Yours truly - double bass
Aleksandar Skoric - drums
In hindsight, the word Falga marks a very special time in my life.
Imagine a group of misfits, all studying at the same conservatory, starting to jam together. Some of us were classically trained; some weren’t. The common denominator was a love for jazz—but even more so, a hunger for uncharted territory. Much of the process was non-linear. There was no goal other than exploration. We had all the time in the world: no gigs breathing down our necks, and every ounce of willingness to ask, what if?
Tunes slowly began to take shape, all the while remaining widely improvised and open-ended. Gigs started coming in. We became very active throughout the Netherlands, and it was with this band that I played for the first time at TivoliVredenburg.
When we finally felt ready, we went for it—and the record came to life. Our sound began to be recognized by people outside the musician bubble. Reviews were generally positive, with the highlight being a four-star review in Trouw, published right next to a three-star review of an Elton John album. Entirely subjective, of course—but we laughed about that for weeks.
Some extra fun facts: I drew the CD artwork by hand while lying in bed with a high fever, in an apartment at the top of a skyscraper in New York. While there, I managed to hand a copy to none other than John Zorn after meeting him at his legendary venue, The Stone.
“Maestro, I know you’re very busy, but… could I ask you to listen to my band and maybe let me know what you think?” I said—fully aware that the odds were not in my favor.
Zorn didn’t hesitate. He agreed immediately, asked for my email address, and a few days later there he was in my inbox, congratulating us on having forged what he considered a unique sound.
Not bad for a debut album.
Find us on bandcamp:
/album/falga
