Piero Umiliani gave the world some fantastic soundtracks in the 60s, and incredible electronic and sound library work in the 70s – but in the immediate postwar years, he was a jazz musician at heart – as you'll hear in this great set of small combo jazz from 1959! The vibe is right up there with some of the hippest Italian moderns of the period – like the Basso/Valdambrini group, or work by Gil Cuppini – and if you've heard some of the early 60s jazz soundtracks from Piero, you'll know that he can definitely serve up straight jazz work when he wants to! Umiliani plays piano, and other musicians include Marcello Boschi on alto and flute, Ivan Vandor on tenor, Bill Gilmore on trombone, Peppe Carta on bass, and Roberto Zappulla on drums. All tracks are originals – and include "Tempo Jazz", "Tema In Blues", "Mezza Cottura", "Tipi Misteriosi", and "Battesimo Dell'Aria". (Soundtracks, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

An early jazzy soundtrack from the great Piero Umiliani – made even better by some key work from Chet Baker on trumpet and Helen Merrill on vocals! The set was done at a time when both artists were spending some time in Italy – shaping the scene with their presence, and really standing out on a handful of rare recordings like this one – quite different than their American material of a few years before! Baker is especially striking – with lead solos that have a great sense of compression, and a depth of soul that really move beyond the Pacific Jazz recordings. And Merrill is wonderful, too – with that special flavor she only ever seemed to open up when she went overseas – and got to move into more unusual settings. But the real star is Umiliani throughout – balancing modern impulses with late night jazz in a way that really points the way towards his later scores in the 60s – but which is already nearly perfect here! Titles include "Smog" (done in instrumental and vocal versions by Baker and Merrill), plus "Dawn", "Tensione", "Tops", "California In The Summer", "Hollywood Tonight", "Bowling", and "Twilight At Los Angeles". (Soundtracks, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

A strange and obscure session that has the cool jazz vocals of American singer Helen Merrill backed by a small Italian combo led by soundtrack composer Piero Umiliani – a wonderful mix that really makes the album an unusual one for Helen! The music was originally recorded for a TV program in Italy, and each track is preceded by an Italian voice, reciting Italian versions of the lyrics over spare musical backing – then Merrill's voice comes in with a bigger jazz group, singing each track in English – a very nice level of presentation! And although the whole thing sounds crazy, it actually works well – and gives the album a compelling edge and kind of a sexy late-night quality – with great instrumentation that includes flute from Gino Marinacci and guitar from Enzo Grillini. Tracks include "Solitude", "Everything Happens To Me", "Night & Day", "Why Don't You Do Right", and "Willow Weep For Me". (Vocalists, Jazz) CD

Sounds sleepy – but it's totally groovy!! The mad talents of Italian soundtrack genius Piero Umiliani are turned towards his love of Duke Ellington – and the result is an incredibly groovy batch of tracks that mix up jazz, electronics, and plenty of great keyboards! The bulk of the material on the set was recorded in 1974 – and it features Umiliani playign moog and ARP, in a strange sort of "tribute" to Ellington that takes the usual Duke tunes, and turns them into hard grooving little numbers, with lots of bubbling electronic bits and weird sound effects. The first cut on the set is a mad mad version of "Caravan" which leaps and churns all over the place, sounding funkier than you could ever imagine! As the set progresses, some of the tracks are more traditionally jazz-based, but everything is played by a larger group, and the groove is still pretty darn excellent! Titles include "Ode To Duke Ellington", "Solitude", "Dreaming Of Duke", "Jeep's Blues", and "Never Together". CD

A wonderful sound library set from Piero Umiliani, and one that's overflowing with contributions from some mighty hip jazz musicians on the Italian scene of the 70s – including Enrico Pieranunzi on both electric and acoustic piano, Oscar Valdambrini on trumpet, Dino Piana on trombone, and Bruno Tommaso on bass – all working with very cool organ and moog from Piero himself! There's flute on many tracks – played by both S Genovese and N Rapicavoli, both players we don't know at all – and the instrument is often used in these cool, compressed ways that are mighty nice – and which make a stunning sonic counterpart to the other instrumentation, especially when Umiliani turns up some of the odd effects in the production! Titles include "Regalita", "Babilonia", "Chiaroscuro", "Battimenti A Tarantella", "Flauto Notturno", "Penombra", and "Fantasia Italica". (Sound Library, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

A great set of keyboard work from the legendary Piero Umiliani – and one that's definitely heavy on the Fender Rhodes promised in the title! Piero first started out with a more jazz-based sound in the 60s, and that definitely returns here – but updated nicely with a sweet set of 70s electric keys – used here in ways that move between funky jazz, gentler bossa numbers, and a whole range of other styles that fit very nicely on the groovier side of the sound library spectrum! As with most of Umiliani's music during the decade, this album wasn't commercially released at all – just done as a sound library session under the name of Rovi – but pure Piero all the way through, on titles that include "Medium Cool", "Honey Moon", "Jolly", "Pianofender Blues", "Proposal", "Good Job", "Dark Blues", and "Atmosphere". (Sound Library, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

A legendary overview of jazz on the Italian scene at the start of the 60s – a great document of the new modes that was really setting the work of Italian jazz musicians apart from those in other parts of Europe – working with fresh ideas and a new conception that's completely sublime! The work here often has a great balance between structure and individual voice – and many numbers feature strong soloists who'd go on to great fame in a variety of settings – already graced here with talents that seem greater than their young years. Trumpeter Enrico Rava leads things off in a quartet with pianist Maurizio Lama, on a version of the tune "Line For Lyons" – and Lama follows with a trio reading of his own "Tema For Franco". Trumpeter Sergio Fanni is joined by the great Eraldo Volante on tenor and baritone on the tunes "Duo" and "Circeo". Later soundtrack artist Piero Umiliani serves up his "Picolla Suite Americana" – followed by the Modern Jazz Gang of saxophonist Sandro Brugnolini (with later sound library giants Enzo Scoppa and Cicci Santucci), on the tracks "The Drum Is A Tramp" and "Blue Mirria". Trombonist Dino Piana delivers the tune "Tempo Di Febbraio" with help from the great Gianni Basso on tenor – and the set also features a reading of "Bag's Groove" with Giorgio Azzolini on bass, Piano on trombone, and Attilio Donadio on alto. LP, Vinyl record album

A great set of postwar Italian jazz – the combination of 2 sessions from the end of the 50s, both featuring the octet of tenorist Gianni Basso and trumpeter Oscar Valdambrini! The pair are joined in the frontline by Dino Piana on trombone on about half the set – and by the baritone sax of the great Swedish player Lars Gullin on another four tunes – and together, the tracks have a lively and hard-swinging feel that's very much in keeping with the best jazz showing up on Italian soundtracks at the time – no surprise, since the Gassman in the title is Vittorio Gassman, one of the greatest Italian character actors of the 50s and 60s! Tunes include "Fata Morgana", "Guess Who", "Ciau Turin", "Crazy Rhythm", "Peter Of April", and "Blues For Gassman", a strong original written by Piero Umiliani! LP, Vinyl record album