TAPE 1
KOOL MARY LOU WILLIAMS 6:11
THE MUSIC NEXT DOOR ROBERTO GATTO 4:46
THE FOUNDRY WALTZ ALESSANDRO PRESTI 4:50
SALON MALAGA MATTEO BORTONE 5:45
FOUR STORIES ROBERTO GATTO 6:24
CHERRY SONG ALESSANDRO PRESTI fragment
TAPE 2
CHERRY SONG ALESSANDRO PRESTI 5:41
WAVER ALESSANDRO LANZONI 5:25
MONACO-PALERMO ALESSANDRO PRESTI 5:36
VICTORIA REGIA MATTEO BORTONE 4:09
GARDENIA GARY PEACOCK 3:23
Conceived, recorded, and produced by Giulio Cesare Ricci
Recorded at the Auditorium Museo Piaggio in Pontedera (PI)
Recording data: March 11, 2023
Valve microphones: Neumann U47, U48, M49
Mike preamplifiers, cables (line, microphone, power supply): Signoricci
Photos by Stefano “Steve” Girolami
This album is part of the recordings Giulio Cesare made for the 2023 Piaggio Fonè Music Festival concerts, which he organized.
The chosen location is the Piaggio Auditorium, located inside the famous Pontedera Museum, where Piaggio was born and where it continues to produce today.
The protagonists of FOUR STORIES are four great musicians with an extraordinary leader, Roberto Gatto, the greatest Italian jazz drummer, accompanied by Alessandro Presti (trumpet), Matteo Bortone (double bass), and Alessandro Lanzoni (piano). Roberto Gatto has performed throughout Europe and the rest of the world with his groups and with international artists. The groups that bear his name are characterized not only by an interesting exploration of timbre and impeccable playing technique, but also by a great warmth typical of Mediterranean culture. This certainly makes Roberto Gatto one of the most interesting drummers and composers in Europe and the world. Among the pieces performed, many are those composed by the artists themselves: "The Music Next Door" by R. Gatto, "Il valzer della fonderia" by A. Presti, "Waver" by A. Lanzoni, and "Victoria Regia" by M. Bortone. The album also features two very special pieces by Mary Lou Williams and Gary Peacock.
For this recording, Giulio Cesare Ricci brought all his equipment, both analog (Ampex ATR 102 Electronic Tube Ampex Model 351-1965, 2 tracks, 1/2", 30fps, modified by David Manley) and digital (Pyramix Recorder, dCS A/D and D/A converters).
This is because for each recording, Giulio Cesare Ricci creates two masters: an analog master for vinyl and tape, and a DSD digital master for SuperAudioCD.
The mastering was done using the entirely analog, tube-based Signoricci system. A state-of-the-art system without sound manipulation, equalization, reverb, compression, or expansion... but with a natural sound and true timbre to best enhance the acoustics of the Piaggio Museum Auditorium. All this to create recordings characterized by technological refinement and aimed at recovering the original musical atmosphere. For this recording, Ricci also used the "field effect" recording technique... all this to make to relive the live effect for the listener, in his home hi-fi system, as if he had been present at the performance.
