After
reviewing his first recording "Akkordeon Internationale!"
on December
14th, 2001 I received another recording from John Bonica.
This time, it is with a 'Latin flavour'. The content of this CD
is best described on the CD cover:
"This album is collage of
beautiful Latin melodies ranging from the exotic tango to the
gentle sway of bossa nova and beguine. Two Italian friends, John
Bonica and Louis Fanucchi, playing identical handmade Petosa AM
1100 accordions, are complemented by the multitalented Gene Nery
and his Latin orchestra. The end result is a soulful, musically
expressive album for dancing or pure listening pleasure. Bonica,
Fanucchi and Nery blend their talents in the creation of new arrangements.
We hope you enjoy this album as much as we enjoyed creating it".
When listening to recordings, there
is always some aspect of the performance that strikes me almost
immediately, and leaves that very powerful first impression (for
better or worse). Often it is for the better as the current accordion
performing standard is quite high. It may be: virtuosity, tone,
sophistication, musicality, balance, sensitivity, etc etc.
My first impression about this album
had to do with the overall sound picture of this recording. First
of all, the clarity and tone quality of the recording are exceptional
and that makes such a difference. To me, sophistication is important,
and this recording is a good example of this quality in terms
of overall sound picture. Due to the fact that there are many
instruments used (2 accordions, strings, percussions, bass, piano
& guitar), the sound is full-bodied and colorful, there is
no emptiness. Another contributing factor are the great arrangements.
All of these aspects together create a professional, sophisticated,
well balanced sound picture of the ensemble. Performing wise,
it is much the same - done with the good taste, stylish, polished
- very enjoyable. I highly recommend this recording to lovers
of classy Latin entertainment. *****
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