Album Review/ Jazz : Donelli AI Ensemble’s ‘Previsioni del tempo incerto’
Donelli AI Ensemble is an Italian jazz, funk, rock and blues/ soul group. They have a prolific musical presence, with ideas popping off, solos and tangents just going off like fireworks on the Fourth of July. The ensemble reworks music and human words, with creative use of AI. It’s a collaborative effort that showcases the blend of human ideas with the progressing world of music. As you listen to it, with AI in the title you might expect a repetitive and overdone sound. But you’ll be surprised at how dynamic and active the compositions are with such beautiful moments of musical creation. It doesn’t plateau at any point, only keep lifting and elevating with a notable sense of music and style.
Their latest release is the ‘Previsioni del tempo incerto’ album, an 18 track collection that shows you the prolific confluence of musical innovation with technological lifts. The title track especially showcases the grandeur of the ensemble’s musical vision. It is dramatic with such splashes of color, style and melody. And just like that, it keeps on driving. Acapella jazz blended in with an expanding and electric musical scape.
Across the collection, you’ll see a lot of musical variables, explored, activated and fleshed out. It’s like taking something and then diving into the center of it and then creating something with it. There are so many pop flavoured tracks that offer up new possibilities of the genre. Track like ‘Cobalto’, ‘La guerra è finita’ and ‘Capo Giuseppe’ all offer up so many fun moods. One festive and bustling, another yearning and moody romantic. All created with vocals that take on so much character and depth.
Then in tracks like ‘Borea’, ‘Spot’ and ‘Grot’ are led with evocative instrumentals. Powerful moments of feeling that fold you into itself. In Borea, you really get to see the jazz play out with a smooth dynamism. It’s effortless and free, the way it goes out. That orchestral rise is so good and you’ll see it in Spot and Grot as well. So many instrumental layers aligning with a grand vision.
Meanwhile tracks like ‘Villistas’ and ‘Tiki Beat’ have their own jazz personalities and explorations. They’re unique and meant to be those one off tracks that build up the range of the album. The former has a very strong Middle Eastern influence. Its serpentine and hypnotic flow does a lot as it builds into the strong electronic beat. The rhythm is deeply bolstered and the design is fleshed out with an atmosphere of mystery and creativity. ‘Tiki Beat’ takes the band to a blues and more Latin frame. There’s rock, there’s dance, there's tiki beat, and an unforgettable time. That ocean culture from Hawaii is dilated and expanded with a rich tapestry of vocals, instrumental sensibilities. The jazz in these tracks lends a structure, a symmetrical flow that celebrates the spirit of the Tiki.
The album is truly transporting. It’s scenes blending into scenes, into frames into visuals, emotions, and energy. All just coming together with an irrepressible momentum that keeps you thinking about it. Listen Now!
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The album is available for streaming on popular sites like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Amazon Music!
You can listen to ‘Previsioni del tempo incerto’ by Donelli AI Ensemble here -
