As you’ll hear, this splendid trio (Paolo Porta : tenor sax; Alessandro Maiorino: bass; Alessandro Minetto: drums) is anything BUT in that state of mind… they’ve been playing together for over 20 years, so what you’ll be listening to is seasoned jazz veterans with both high talent and high energy! Mr. Minetto’s drums & percussion on the most appropriately titled "Soulful Drums" will get your blood flowing & put you right on in there with the rhythm of life! "Peace Keeping" gives you a wonderful sax intro from Alessandro’s tenor, then right after the one minute mark, the energy from the other players kicks in. My personal favorite of the ten tunes offered up is the down & funky "Round Trip"… these folks know how to wrap you up in their solid grooves & keep you there. I give this one a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, with an "EQ" (energy quotient) rating of 4.98. Get more information at the SLAM PRODUCTIONS label page for this release. Rotcod Zzaj
http://rotcodzzaj.com/42-2/improvijazzation-nation-160/issue-160-reviews/
A good almost old-fashioned bop recording out of the 60s. Something I hear a lot of on the Abeat label from Italy. Porta has a big sound without a lot of vibrato and he uses it effectively with his simple straightforward melodies and good solid solos. Every once in a while he sounds a bit like Sonny Rollins, and then he will throw in a long Cotraneish line. And Joe Lovano also comes to mind.
Majorino has a big, solid sound which comes through everything, and MInetto keeps things cooking in something approaching a Blakey style. Majorino’s solos are solid and MInetto’s big solo on "dreams" works fine with some help from Porta, as does his trading 8s on "November."
There are no surprises here. A good, solid performance by an accomplished trio who play well together.
Bernie Koenig
CD review from Volume 41, No. 3, 2015 www.cadencemagazine.com
Still releasing exciting and explorative music, Slam Records exhibits freedom of musical expression like few other labels.
Paolo Porta leads the usually fiendishly difficult tenor sax trio with aplomb and style. He’s got a warm and furry tone, and uses it to his melodious best with the light on feet team of Alessandro Maiorino/b and Alessandro Minetto/dr. There’s a nimble bop feel on pieces such as "Freedom of Speech" and two Alessandros provide a nice foundation on "November." The team gets a bit angular, but they stay coherent and cohesive on "Soulful Drums" and glow like fireflies on the ballad "That’ll Do." Porta delivers a bel canto aria on the intro to "Round Trip" and the team slips into a rich groove on "Raincoat Blues." Can’t say enough about this one!
George Harris http://www.jazzweekly.com/2015/04
Approda sulla Slam Productions, meritevole casa discografica londinese, il trio del sassofonista torinese Paolo Porta insieme a Alessandro Maiorino al contrabbasso e Alessandro Minetto alla batteria. Tutti ricchi di esperienze, in Italia ed all´estero, in USA ed n Europa, e tuttavia rimasi sempre in contatto fin dal 1993. Tutto ciò fa bene a sound della band, compatto e preciso, al di là dello schema sassofonista più accompagnamento. Loro si presentano perfettamente integrati in un meccanismo ad orologeria in cui ciascuno svolge un lavoro paritetico. Ottimo Porta al sax tenore, muscoloso, i suoi interventi sono ricchi di sostanza, poco fumo e molto arrosto verrebbe da dire usando una nota metafora. Lo stesso vale per gli altri, così che la musica appare nel suo complesso coinvolgente ed energetica, costruita sapendo dove si va a parare. Freedom of Speech che apre l´album mostra subito queste qualità, confermate nei brani che seguiranno: un bel tema, la ritmica pulsante, l´eloquio energetico e la musica che va senza problemi.
Beginner´s State of Mind, che dà il titolo all´album, è caratterizzato da un ritmo swingante e veloce, una perla esecutiva con una tecnica impeccabile. Non poteva mancare un brano che parte lentamente, Isabella, in cui c´è l´assolo al contrabbasso di Maiorino sostenuto dalla spazzole di Minetto, qui il contrabbasso è impiegato come una chitarra sovradimensionata mentre anche Porta lo appoggia con poche note inserite al momento giusto. Poi durante l´esecuzione tutto si fa più energetico quando a guidare l´esecuzione è il sassofonista. Bello Round Trip, un tema dal ritmo funky, al centro del disco, perfetto non solo nell´esecuzione ma anche nell´editing! Il blues finale,Raincoat Blues chiude un album entusiasmante in cui c´è del grande jazz.
All´interno di quello che è il modern mainstream odierno i tre si fanno notare per le tante positive qualità.
Vittorio lo Conte http://www.musiczoom.it/?p=22482
TRANSLATION (Google)
Arrives on Slam Productions, worthy record label in London, the trio of Turin saxophonist Paolo Porta along with Alessandro Maiorino on bass and Alessandro Minetto on drums. All rich in experience, in Italy and abroad, in the US and Europe, and yet was always in contact since 1993. All this is good for the band's sound, compact and precise, beyond schema saxophonist more accompaniment. They are perfectly integrated into a clockwork mechanism in which everyone plays a joint working. Great Porta on tenor sax, muscular, his interventions are rich in substance, very little smoke and roast would say using a known metaphor. The same applies to the other, so that the music is a whole exciting and energetic, built knowing where it is going. Freedom of Speech, which opens the album quickly shows these qualities, confirmed in the passages that follow: a nice theme, the rhythmic button, l'eloquio energy and the music that goes smoothly.
Beginner's State of Mind, which gives the title track, is characterized by a swinging rhythm and fast, a pearl executive with an impeccable technique. We could not miss a song that starts slowly, Isabella, where there l'assolo on bass of Maiorino supported by brushes Minetto, here the bass is employed as a guitar while also oversized Porta supports him with a few notes inserted at the right time . The execution then when everything becomes more energy when driving The execution is the saxophonist. Beautiful Round Trip, a theme from the funky rhythm, at the center of the disc, perfect not only in the execution but also in editing! The final blues, Raincoat Blues closes an exciting album in which there is the great jazz.
Inside what is the modern mainstream today the three stand out for their many positive qualities.
Also contemplative is PAOLO PORTA’s [ts], BEGINNER’S STATE OF MIND [Slam 561]. Porta for the most part stays in the mid range and at a relaxed tempo playing in an understated manner on nine originals and Randy Newman’s, "That’ll do". The trio [Alessandro Maiorino-b, Alessandro Minetto-drm] works well together, bass and drum keep the themes buoyed and at the same time have their own conversation. There are times Porta reminds me of Frank Lowe, he is quite lyrical in his compositions, at times almost sounding like folk lullabies. A calming jazz postbop outing.
Robert Rusch Cadence April 2015
Paolo Porta, tenor saxophone; Alessandro Maiorino, bass; Alessandro Minetto, drums.
While the forms are rooted in traditional jazz song format, the harmonic and melodic approaches are quite original. The fresh and sometimes unconventional melodies set the context for a variety of improvisational approaches that include unexpected twists and occasionally a whimsical quality. Several of the composed melodies are quite catchy and memorable even for the uninitiated listener. All in all, in many ways, "Beginner’s State of Mind" is an excellent collaborative effort by veterans musicians who are dedicated to their craft.
sugar45 http://www.breakaplate.com/index.php/slam-productions/
I haven't until now come across anything from Porta since I reviewed Deceptive Revolution in 2006, in which he played post-Parker on alto throughout, along with lots of references to hard-bop of the Blue Note 60s.
The album beginner's state of mind sees him elsewhere. This Italian trio has existed since 1993 and has collaborated regularly since then, although what have not changed are Porta's lucidity and the opulence of his phrasing. The album is entirely lyrical and Porta has a voice that is mostly sugar with a little acidic edge.
Paolo Porta plays saxophone, writes music, teaches, leads his own bands and has worked, played or recorded with many top rank musicians including Carla Bley, Steve Coleman, Steve Grossman, Lee Konitz, Joe Lovano, Don Moye, Greg Osby, William Parker and Steve Swallow. He is highly sought after at home in Italy as well.
Alessandro Maiorino teaches electric and double bass. He studied classical music on bass before beginning to explore jazz and to establish himself in this scene and in different styles of jazz, playing with musicians as widely diverse as Steve Grossman, Billy Hart, Peter King and Enrico Rava. He works for both radio and TV and has toured extensively.
Alessandro Minetto is also highly thought of in Europe, again playing in a wide variety of musical genres and with big names such as Benny Golson, Scott Hamilton, Peter King, Lee Konitz and Bud Shank, as well as touring with Steve Grossman. Minetto's drumming is particularly finely tinged and shaded, especially at the cymbals and offers an invigorating though fastidious counterpoint to Maiorino's tight bass lines.
The trio work closely together, their characters reciprocally balanced, so as to express an eloquently articulated soundscape.
Reviewed by Ken Cheetham, Jazz Views
http://www.jazzviews.net/paolo-porto-trio-ndash-beginners-state-of-mind.html
