La Vita E Un Circo (Life Is A Circus) – Claudio Vena and Featuring the Cosmic Cowboy Orchestra Claudio Vena plays Accordion, Violin, Viola, Percussion, Piano/Synths and is also the Composer, Arranger, Orchestrator, Conductor and Producer! What else can I say about this frightfully talented musician? Well, although it doesn’t say so, I suspect he is also the poet who so eloquently expresses his feelings in the explanations of the titles for the 11 pieces recorded on this unusual CD. Even the usual thanks given to family and other supporters have traces of heart-felt sentiments of true appreciation. The Cosmic Cowboy Orchestra includes, in addition to the efforts of Vena and vocalists, equally talented musicians playing Violins, Celli, Flute/Pic/Soprano-Alto-Bari Sax, Oboe/English Horn, French Horns, Trumpets, and Guitar. They play extremely well and all contribute greatly to the success of this recording. The listener is taken on a journey through a life filled with music and a life of romance, passion, emotion, and sometimes sadness but always with a bright gleam of resilience and hope for a happy future. Read the titles of the various tracks; folks, this is a concept we have not heard set forth in this manner on an accordion CD. This recording features Claudio Vena on the accordion, yes, but it is far more than an accordion CD! This is a terrific, well balanced, finely mixed, seamlessly blended performance of music for both a large and interesting assortment of acoustical instruments and modern electronics, often making it somewhat difficult (wonderful!) to distinguish between the two. It has some nice attractive melodies to catch one’s fancy but it also has some dissonance and a bit of musical cacophony meandering throughout the various titles. The accordion is always prominent; however, but it is so without a pretentiousness or pomposity that one often forgets it is the solo instrument, the one that is indeed leading but also complimenting the larger musical soundscape. Personally, as you can tell, I liked this CD. It even made me imagine a few moments of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring or his Firebird Suite perhaps. Claudio Vena fused the 11 pieces into an amalgamation without beginning or ending and with a strong unity. There is a great connection between all the tracks. If you want to hear an accordionist play well, with clean articulation, and show how the accordion can be used in a very commercial manner along with some other fine musicians, then by all means purchase this recording. Many musicians today, not only accordionists, must use every strength they have in order to make their presence known; Claudio Vena is a man of many strengths and he is also an accordionist of whom we must be proud. This CD could inspire a lot of young accordionists to broaden their interests and their musical assets in becoming professional working musicians today. It is available through www.claudiovena.com The price is $15.95 plus shipping. Reviewed by Joan Cochran Sommers, January 2007 |
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