PIERO UMILIANI - To-day’s Sound (2024 Reissue with Poster) - 2LP - Vinyl

LP - Limited Edition Black Vinyl with Poster. Only 500 copies worldwide.  

The sound of today. A very strong statement. Yet, fifty years later, it remains undisputed. Today’s sound is Piero Umiliani's manifesto, his will to demonstrate to the world that he always has his finger on the pulsating vein of the world, ready to embrace the heartbeat of the future.

In the summer of 1973, Piero Umiliani, in his futuristic recording studio in Rome, much like Miles Davis for his 'Bitches Brew,' gathered an extraordinary collective of musicians, both old and new guard to measure themselves against some of his compositions. Besides strongly emphasizing the backbeat, what stands out the most is the timbre provided by his 'electronic instruments,' as he liked to call them. Minimoog, Arp 2600, Fender Rhodes, EMS VCS3, Clavinet, Lowrey organ, Space Echo, self-built envelope filters—machines impossible to see all together in an Italian recording studio at the bme and made available to the musicians.

The line-up is stellar; under the name 'Sound Workshoppers,' the 'Wrecking Crew all' Amatriciana' is hidden an impossible mix where Marc 4, Gres and Perigeo are blended, along with a brass section of veterans and pioneers of Italian jazz, all members of the RAI Symphonic Rhythm Orchestra. Comparing the recordings from the original scores, one can also understand the space left by Piero Umiliani for his musicians. They are free to move, to contribute solutions, to enrich the maestro's music.

The perfectly preserved original masters, once transferred at the maximum possible sampling frequency, allowed for the recovery of many lost frequencies, restoring brilliance and the remarkable low end expertly captured in recording by engineer Claudio Budassi. Today’s sound was extremely difficult to control and fully render with the mastering technology of that time. Paradoxically, Today's sound could not sound as I have managed to make it sound today: urgent, majestic, more alive than ever.

Umiliani, here on the job with Moog, Hammond and keyboards, is accompanied by a good group of excellent and talented jazz players, like Franco D'Andrea and Giovanni Tommaso (both in the Perigeo group), trumpet player Oscar Valdambrini, guitar player Silvano Chimenti from I Grès group, percussionist Ciro Cicco and many others.

With the original intent to offer radically different styles and atmospheres, in order to promote the use of the tracks in movies and tv series – in fact, the the psycho-funk "Open space" was used for the opening credits of the movie "Baba Yaga" – "To-day's sound" is the perfect example of Umiliani's incredible and varied talent, capable of mastering diverse genres and sounds without losing his personal touch. As stated on the cover: "Rock, rhythm and blues, beat, underground, country, pop", we can also add electronic music and funk, in order to complete a sound palette that only very few other composers had. It is hard to pick the best track in a record (a double album to be specific ) so rich of gems, from the title track to "Caretera panamericana" (with "virtuoso" Moog improvisations ), to "Bus stop" and "Music on the road" , to end with the wonderful soul of "Green valley": it is better to enjoy Umiliani at his best!

Tracklist:

A1. Open Space [4:15]
A2. Green Valley [3:02]
A3. Caretera Panamericana [2:58]
A4. Goodmorning Sun [4:40]
A5. To-Day's Sound [2:27]
A6. Free Dimension [2:17]

B1. Truck Driver [3:24]
B2. Blue Lagoon [3:38]
B3. Wanderer [3:52]
B4. Lady Magnolia [3:22]
B5. Pretty [3:08]

C1. Railroad [4:14]
C2. Country Town [3:29]
C3. Bus Stop [2:44]
C4. Cotton Road [3:44]
C5. Nocturne [3:23]

D1. Exploration [2:10]
D2. Tropical River [4:21]
D3. Coast To Coast [3:25]
D4. Safari Club [5:07]
D5. Music On The Road [4:24]