Featured in the Summer 2016 Issue of Jazziz and ‘Forty’ featured on CD Sampler
If Fabrizio Sotti‘s new trio album Forty (self-released), is any indication, the guitarist doesn’t appear to be overly angst-ridden about hitting the big “four-oh.” Rather, he plays with great joy and no small amount of confidence, indicating a comfort level with his artistry and an optimism about the future. Sotti weaves autobiography throughout the 10 tracks here, including songs such as Jobim’s “How Insensitive,” which his grandmother played for him when he was young, and tunes he wrote inspired by his brother, his baby daughter and his wife. Bassist Peter Slavov and drummer Francisco Mela complete Sotti’s trio, each lending color and texture to these highly personal songs.
The album’s title track, our selection, reveals a tight unit grooving as one. Slavov walks a bluesy bassline while Mela’s effervescent stick-work maintains the momentum. Sotti’s slinky, blues-drenched leads dart in and out of the rhythmic framework. With hushed intensity, he transitions from one style of playing to the next. This, he says “is how I like to play right now. You can hear the joyful playfulness between these different rhythms, going from a modern funk rubato to a straight ahead swinging thing, playing what I like with nothing to prove.” And that’s what’s nice about turning 40.