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PAUL GIALLORENZO Trio - PLAY (DELMARK 5038)

PAUL GIALLORENZO: PIANO
JOSHUA ABRAMS: DOUBLE BASS
MIKEL PATRICK AVERY: DRUMS

1) Vamps and Feels 6:15
2) Synchronie 3:19
3) Saturday the 14th 4:39
4) Smooth Sails 3:07
5) Where does time go? 5:40
6) Bíndara Búndara 4:22
7) Meditation 4:06
8) Bouncing with Berman 4:14
9) Decomposition 6:04
10) Combustion 4:15

ALL COMPOSITIONS BY
Paul Giallorenzo Music (ASCAP)


AS KIDS, MOST OF US OFTEN HEARD OUR PARENTS TELL US
—WHETHER OUT OF CONCERN FOR US GETTING ENOUGH FRESH AIR,
OR SIMPLY TO GET US OUT THEIR HAIR—TO “PLAY OUTSIDE.”

PAUL GIALLORENZO STILL DOES THAT.
He plays beyond the theme-and-variations format, happy to skip beyond the well-worn phrases of silky piano trios, ready to take the game in an oblique direction at every turn. Plenty of musicians have explored such areas: the jazz avant-garde evolved thanks to the legendary artists who “played outside.”

Most of those musicians were adept at playing “inside” as well; it’s said that Ornette Coleman, for example, could sound exactly like Charlie Parker when he chose.
And today’s post-freedom musicians sometimes surprise ardent avant-garde fans with their mastery of music that they have supposedly jettisoned from their repertoire.

But not so many artists can adeptly merge these approaches into one theory of mind, and such “inside-outside” musicians—the category that certainly includes Giallorenzo’s trio—are a separate gang. They infuse the tradition into their edgier romps, and viceversa; more to the point, they inhabit both territories at the same time. So while the music in Play can grab the ear of musical adventurers, it also won’t frighten those just dipping their toes into this particular stream.

These players find a middle ground—not by compromising the new or the old, but
by elevating the virtues of each. It’s not so easy to make music this demanding and yet so deceptively fluid. These performances arise from a combination of focus and intensity, dedication and rigor. But they sure don’t sound like “work.” Whether outside or in, the message remains the same: PLAY.

(EXCERPTED FROM LINER NOTES BY NEIL TESSER)

https://delmark.com/2023/08/paul-giallorenzo-trio-delmark-cd-release-party-oct-12th-at-elastic-arts/


Paul Giallorenzo Trio to release "Play" on Delmark Records Oct. 10th, expanding avant jazz in extraordinary directions.

"Repeated listens have opened up my ears; Giallorenzo’s key inspirations go back five decades, but the way he evokes Thelonious Monk, Herbie Nichols, and particularly early Cecil Taylor doesn’t sound the last bit dated." - Chicago Reader

His brand new trio album, "Play," out October 10th on Delmark Records, illustrates his evolution as an artist and devotion to jazz forms. Giallorenzo is joined by Joshua Abrams on double bass and Mikel Patrick Avery on drums.

The Trio will celebrate the release of "Play" at Elastic Arts on October 12th.

From liner notes by Neil Tesser:

As kids, most of us often heard our parents tell us, whether out of concern for us getting enough fresh air - or simply to get us out of their hair - to “play outside.” Pianist Paul Giallorenzo still does it.

Giallorenzo plays beyond the theme-and-variations format, happy to skip beyond the well-worn phrases of silky piano trios, ready to take the game in an oblique direction at every turn. Plenty of musicians have explored such areas: the jazz avant-garde evolved thanks to the legendary artists who “played outside.” Most of those musicians were adept at playing “inside” as well; it’s said that Ornette Coleman, for example, could sound exactly like Charlie Parker when he chose.

And today’s post-freedom musicians sometimes surprise ardent avant-garde fans with their mastery of music that they have supposedly jettisoned from their repertoire. But not so many artists can adeptly merge these approaches into one theory of mind, and such “inside-outside” musicians—the category that certainly includes Giallorenzo’s trio—are a separate gang. They infuse the tradition into their edgier romps, and vice-versa; more to the point, they inhabit both territories at the same time. So while the music in "Play" can grab the ear of musical adventurers, it also won’t frighten those just dipping their toes into this particular stream. These players find a middle ground—not by compromising the new or the old, but by elevating the virtues of each.

It’s not so easy to make music this demanding and yet so deceptively fluid. ... These performances arise from a combination of focus and intensity, dedication and rigor. But they sure don’t sound like “work.” Whether outside or in, the message remains the same: Play

Originally from Long Island, NY, Paul Giallorenzo is a Chicago-based improviser, composer, producer, and sound designer using piano, synthesizer, keyboards, and electronics in a diverse range of contexts with a wide array of Chicago and international musicians in improvised, avant-jazz, experimental, and electro/acoustic music, performing regularly locally and throughout North America and Europe.

Giallorenzo’s work has been praised for its “inside-out” nature – his ability to push the boundaries of “conventional” jazz toward more freedom but also, on the other side, to bring a measure of structure to more avant-garde material. Writing in the online journal P_oint Of Departure, John Litweiler said, “His solos and aggressive duets are gems of after-Bop, after-Bley melody,” while AllAboutJazz.com_ lauded music that “smudges the lines between the tradition and the avant-garde.”

Delmark Records is proud to release this new album by Paul Giallorenzo as its 70th anniversary year jazz feature.

Other Delmark releases by Paul include: Paul Giallorenzo Trio - Flow, Paul Giallorenzo's GitGo - Force Majeure
Other albums of interest: Josh Abrams - Cipher (Delmark 546)

Paul is the Artistic Director of the multi-arts organization Homeroom and a co-founder and programmer of the music venue/art gallery Elastic Arts, producing hundreds of creative music concerts and art events in Chicago since 2001.

Thursday October 12th at Elastic Arts, 8:30pm
3429 W Diversey Ave 2nd Fl, Chicago, IL 60647


Promo Requests: Heather West, Western Publicity, 773/301-5767, westernpublicity.com

RELEASE DATE: October 10, 2023
C P 2023 DELMARK RECORDS

EXECUTIVE PRODUCTION AND SUPERVISION
Julia A. Miller & Elbio Barilari
PRODUCED BY Paul Giallorenzo

RECORDED DECEMBER 1 & 2, 2021 AT
Delmark Riverside Studio, CHICAGO

ENGINEERED BY Nick Broste
MIXED BY Nick Broste
& Paul Giallorenzo
MASTERED BY Carl Saff
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION AND DESIGN BY
Al Brandtner, Brandtner Design
PHOTOGRAPHY BY George Mulcahy
LINER NOTES BY Neil Tesser
www.delmark.com
promo@delmark.com


Originally from Long Island, NY, Paul Giallorenzo is a Chicago-based improviser, composer, producer, and sound designer using piano, synthesizer, keyboards, and electronics in a diverse range of contexts with a wide array of Chicago and international musicians in improvised, avant-jazz, experimental, and electro/acoustic music, performing regularly locally and throughout North America and Europe.

Giallorenzo’s work has been praised for its “inside-out” nature – his ability to push the boundaries of “conventional” jazz toward more freedom but also, on the other side, to bring a measure of structure to more avant-garde material. Writing in the online journal Point Of Departure, John Litweiler said, “His solos and aggressive duets are gems of after-Bop, after-Bley melody,” while AllAboutJazz.org lauded music that “smudges the lines between the tradition and the avant-garde.”

His work can be found on the Chicago-based Delmark Records and Austin-based Astral Spirits labels, as well as various other imprints including Leo Records (UK), Not Two Records (Poland), and 482 Music (NY).

Giallorenzo is the Artistic Director of the intermedia arts organization Homeroom and a co-founder and programmer of the music venue/art gallery Elastic Arts, producing hundreds of creative music concerts and art events in Chicago since 2001.

https://paulgiallorenzo.com/


Paul Giallorenzo Embraces Traditional Jazz Trio Format In His New Delmark Album, “Play”
The longtime producer and prolific pianist will perform Thursday with his new trio at Elastic Arts to celebrate the album’s release.


BLOCK CLUB CHICAGO article
https://blockclubchicago.org/2023/10/10/paul-giallorenzo-embraces-traditional-jazz-trio-format-in-his-new-delmark-album-play/

Pianist Paul Giallorenzo releases his new Delmark record this week.

LOGAN SQUARE — Every city’s jazz scene is fueled by key figures who help foster an inclusive, collaborative environment. In Chicago, one of those “connectors” is musician Paul Giallorenzo.

In addition to being a recording artist and internationally touring keyboardist, Giallorenzo is a sound designer, a private teacher, the artistic director of the arts organization Homeroom and a co-founder and programmer of the music venue/art gallery Elastic Arts, 3429 W. Diversey Ave.

If you’ve hung around Chicago’s avant-garde arts scene at any point during the past quarter-century, there’s a good chance you’ve attended a show Giallorenzo helped organize.

Additionally, he is a prolific musician who plays in numerous bands, including GitGO, Hearts and Minds, RedGreenBlue and Scanlines.

Giallorenzo will perform songs from his new Delmark Records album, “Play,” at 8:30 p.m. Thursday at Elastic Arts. Joining him onstage to celebrate the record release will be bassist Joshua Abrams and drummer Mikel Patrick Avery (who both play on the album), along with cornetist Josh Berman.


“Play” was recorded at Delmark’s historic Riverside Studio in North Center, which has hosted many acclaimed musicians over the years, including Andrew Bird, Roscoe Mitchell, Mavis Staples and Ken Vandermark.

Although Giallorenzo often features electronics and synthesizers in his music, for the “Play” sessions, he embraced a traditional format that has entranced jazz fans for decades: the acoustic piano trio.

“It’s a format that I’ve always found to be the white whale, so to speak — both a challenge and a goal,” Giallorenzo said during a video chat from his home in Logan Square. “I really felt like it was a good vehicle for me. It participates in the jazz tradition in a way that feels meaningful to me. And I think it gives audiences something to grasp onto.”

The new Delmark album, which releases this week, contains 10 tracks (all composed by Giallorenzo), each spiked with dazzling, intricate interplay. One highlight is the hypnotic tune “Saturday the 14th,” the title of which nods to the classic Thelonious Monk composition “Friday the 13th.”

Giallorenzo said his life as a creative musician and his role as an arts programmer are closely intertwined. When he’s not focusing on his own music, he is often helping with programming at Elastic Arts or advancing Homeroom’s goal of presenting never-before-seen collaborations that merge numerous forms of creative expression.

“Homeroom brings live music together with visual art, multimedia, video and dance,” Giallorenzo said. “The ethos is to bring improvisation into all those mediums so people can collaborate easily and freely, the way musicians collaborate — without needing all the funding and all the rehearsals that you usually need for a theater-style production. We have the flexibility to do productions that are more improvised, more experimental and more abstract.”

Serving as a champion for nonprofit arts programs comes naturally to Giallorenzo, a native of Long Island, New York, who graduated from Northwestern University and moved to Chicago in 1999.

“I find myself inspired and motivated by being involved in curatorial projects, bringing people together and creating new types of performances and projects,” he said. “And it’s fun. I don’t want to be living in a world or in a community where there are just commercial venues. Elastic Arts, Homeroom and other similar organizations are part of an ecosystem that I want to live in.”