One of the most prolific artists in the RareNoise roster, Jamie Saft has appeared on recordings by such groups and releases as Metallic Taste of Blood, Slobber Pup, Plymouth, Red Hill, The Spanish Donkey and Berserk! as well as on collaborations with Steve Swallow and Bobby Previte (The New Standard / Loneliness Road, which also featured Iggy Pop, Bill Brovold (Serenity Knolls), Roswell Rudd (Strength & Power) and his own New Zion album (Sunshine Seas). His sprawling discography, which includes prodigious sideman work with John Zorn, numbers over 160 albums. And yet, over all those sessions he had never recorded a solo piano album until now.
Solo A Genova is Saft’s highly emotive take on jazz standards and other uniquely American compositions.
I wanted to present American music as an example of positive, forward thinking art — art that made a difference in the world, art that resisted hatred and negativity, art that promoted a positive path forward for mankind. I chose songs from artists that were dear to me: Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Joni Mitchell, Curtis Mayfield, Charles Ives. Who better to represent the transformative powers of music than these brilliant writers?
Recorded at the beautiful Teatro Carlo Felice in Genova, Italy in an acoustically marvellous space, Solo A Genova showcases Saft on a 9-foot Steinway Model D piano in the service of these beguiling tunes. “My primary influences for solo piano are actually the very same influences for playing the piano in any situation: Bill Evans, Thelonious Monk and Garth Hudson of The Band. Each has a uniquely personal approach to solo piano stylings. Each of these masters incorporates the entire history of modern music within their piano worlds. Their music IS American classical music.”
