IL BARICENTRO - SCONCERTO - 1976

Il Baricentro biography
IL BARICENTRO is an instrumental Italian jazz-rock/fusion band of the 70's. Actually, most of their members come from the previous progressive band FESTA MOBILE. IL BARICENTRO only made 2 studio records between 1976 and 1978. The line-up is made of: Francesco Boccuzzi on keyboards, guitars & percussion; Vanni Boccuzzi on keyboards & percussion; Tonio Napolitano on bass & percussion; Piero Mangini on drums & percussion. On the "Trusciant" album, the band added 2 specialized percussionists. Thier music influences are VERY numerous: they are very percussion-oriented, and they include African & Latin funny ambiences with funky textures a la WEATHER REPORT. One can notice some similitudes with artists like PFM, TRIUMVIRAT , BRAND X, GOBLIN, HAPPY THE MAN, JOHN TOUT, PHIL COLLINS, BILL BRUFORD, EDDIE JOBSON and KEITH EMERSON.

The 2 records are excellent, and I highly recommend the "Trusciant" album. "Trusciant" has real African & Latin elements; the 2 albums can be classified as jazz-rock/fusion music, and they have funky influences a la WEATHER REPORT.

Unfortunately, IL BARICENTRO disbanded after their second studio album. They do not sound like the other conventional Italian progressive bands of the 70's. They can easily be mistaken for a South American progressive band. Their music is a sure value, and the listener shall not be disappointed at all.


Why this artist must be listed in www.progarchives.com :
This band must be included in the Progarchives database because in their music can be recognized progressive artists styles like Brand X, PFM, TRIUMVIRAT, EDDIE JOBSON, JOHN TOUT and KEITH EMERSON. Another reason is that their unique and original music constantly changes in terms of rhythm and melody.


"Sconcerto" is, first of all, a very beautiful and tasteful album, that reveals Il Baricentro as what it is in its purest form, a proficient jazz-rock ensemble with a very strong melodic sense and with a capability to do energetic interplaying in a most colorful manner. The two keyboardists, brothers Boccuzzi, stay well away from the mutual dueling scheme; on the contrary, they use their combined keyboard inputs (mostly pianos and synthesizers, with a noticeable deal of clavinet and harpsichord, and occasionally, some room for organ, too) as portrayers of the candid melodic ideas and elegant textures that keep coming around with the sonic flow. They seem to intend to act as subtle leaders of the band, making the effective rhythm duo come to the fore with their excellent foundations, while they pull the musical strings (well, ivories to be more precise) without showing off. The way that the rhythm section provides swing and groove to all the individual pieces helps the cadence to become a most important element of enhancement for the melodies. The opening namesake track serves as the perfect Baricentro sample for the neophyte. Let me add that I find the presence of the harpsichord in this fusion-esque amalgam quite intriguing: its crystalline vibrato helps the track to preserve an aura of distinction among the groove. This was actually my first Baricentro experience, the track that made me fall in love with this band's proposal. Further ahead, 'Afka' is more focused on the funky trend, while 'Meridioni e Paralleli' and 'Comunque' make a sort of compromise between jazz-fusion and funky - as usual, all well accomplished, very close to what Weather Report was doing at the time in the USA. On the softer side of things, 'Lido Bianco' shows the most academic side of Il Baricentro's ideology: this track is the closest to standard symphonic prog that this band can get. In fact, this track somewhat reminds me of "Ultima Cena"-era Banco del Mutuo Soccorso. 'Pietre di Luna' is plainly beautiful, an evocative serenade instilled with melancholy that needs no lyrics to create emotions in the listener's soul. 'Della Venis' is yet another serene track, ethereal and melodically pristine. These softer tracks are cohesively harmonized with the album's repertoire as a whole. So, all in all, "Sconcerto" is a potential excellent addition for the collections of those who love a strong dose of jazz in their prog, or, mutatis mutandis, those jazz-fusion freaks with a progressive sensibility.
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