PAOLO "APOLLO" NEGRI: A Bigger Tomorrow

Paolo "Apollo" Negri

A Bigger Tomorrow

© 2007 Paolo "Apollo" Negri (826556000925)

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Features a powerful international cast of the best that jazz, funk, soul, groove, lounge, and beat have to offer: featuring members from New Mastersounds, Diplomats of Solid Sound, Montefiori Cocktail, Phat Fred, Cucumber and more.

notes

“A Bigger Tomorrow” is a compilation of methods, themes, and styles that approach from every direction yet collide and fuse at the core into a unified masterpiece. Tapping directly into the Hammondbeat community, Paolo invited over 20 guests to the table…all accepted… underscoring the collaborative instinct of the Hammondbeat world while adding a rich and varied texture of vocals, guitar, and percussion to an already established Hammond B3 maestro.

“A Bigger Tomorrow” features a powerful international cast of the best that jazz, funk, soul, groove, lounge, and beat have to offer: featuring members from New Mastersounds, Diplomats of Solid Sound, Montefiori Cocktail, Phat Fred, Cucumber, Speaklow, Nick Rossi Set and many more.

“A Bigger Tomorrow” was borne from an organ trio project that was to pay a simple homage to those that inspired Apollo to pursue a career as a musician: Charles Earland, Jack McDuff, and Horace Silver among them. The “Applecore” session was scheduled for a late-2006 debut, but Apollo does not sit quietly, and soon began reinterpreting those songs and adding new ones to the lineup.

The “Applecore” session is also available exclusively as a digital release [HBL008 – released: May 8, 2007].

Apollo is a tireless musician and virtual industry unto himself. He is in constant demand as a session player, while at the same time a permanent member of 2 of the busiest combos in Italy: The Link Quartet (Hammondbeat) and Wicked Minds (Black Widow). Apollo is already hard at work on a library themed project with Modulo5 (following the recent release of “Soundsational Movements” on Hammondbeat Digital); is one of The Futuro Seven who are nearing the completion of Hammondbeat’s obsession for the Moog synthesizer; and will be bringing The Link Quartet back to the studio in 2008, while co-producing live albums for Phat Fred and Leslie Overdrive!

Hammondbeat titles featuring Paolo Negri and just a few of the guests on “A Bigger Tomorrow”:

HBR001 – Beat.It – The Link Quartet
HBR003 – Italian Playboys – The Link Quartet
HBR006 – Evolution – The Link Quaret
HBR007 – The Living Eye – Men From S.P.E.C.T.R.E.
HBR008 – Don’t Spoil The Soup! – Phat Fred
HBL006 – On The Outset – Nick Rossi Set
HBL007 – …with the Hammond, in the Beauty – Leslie Overdrive
PCD22272 – Keep It Moving! [licensed to P-Vine, Japan] – The Link Quartet
PCD23970 – Long Live The Link [licensed to P-Vine, Japan] – The Link Quartet

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  • A collaborative project of epic proportions
    author: Mark Ashfield

    Has there ever been a more appropriate release for Hammondbeat? 'Building A Bigger Tomorrow' is a collaborative project of epic proportions. I was expecting something diverse from this CD, but this really has got something for everyone - and if you're a Hammond fan, it's the whole damn thing! The list of guest players reads like a veritable who's who of the whole Hammond scene (plus some), from Eddie Roberts to Enri, Dave Wilkinson to Doctor D. Paolo himself will be a familiar name to anyone frequenting the Hammondbeat site, having played for many years with the Link Quartet and, before that, prog trio Nice Price. Paolo is widely regarded as one of the finest Hammond players out there and, boy, does it show on this record! The Hammond A102 is a constant presence throughout the whole album, it's keys a blur under some lightning finger work. This can often lead other artists down the over jazzified road of musical wank, but Paolo's having none of it, with tasty considered solos, superbly written original tracks and some well chosen covers. This isn't just a collection of tasty grooves, this is damn good music too! Popping in the CD for the first time and you're confronted with a swinging, frantic jazz workout, a lively jazz waltz, a superb version of 'Can't Get Satisfied', blinding blues soloing, rocksome funk, lush analogue synth noodling, and then, oooooo - vocals too, and we're still only a quarter of the way through the whole shebang. Disc one of the two disc edition alone more than justifies the modest asking price, but of course there's more! Warm synth textures, electric piano, and even an ARP sequencer keep the interest there and sometimes it's hard to believe you're still listening to the same album from track to track, but then that Hammond kicks in again and it's immediately obvious who your ears are feasting on. This, for me, is Hammonbeat's finest release to date. It truly encompasses everything the label is about and really does cover an enormous amount of ground. Even more impressive is the fact that I really can't point a negative finger at any tracks and accuse them of being 'fillers'. And with 30 tracks that's some achievement! Maybe it's the 32 collaborators that make it so special? Maybe it's the sheer diversity of the material? Maybe it's the quality of the tunes, the accomplished musicianship? Or maybe it's just the whole bundle! Superb stuff. Buy it - NOW!

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