Album Reviews

The problem with an album like this is that there are two basically disinterested constituencies: Nino Rota fans who want to hear the actual soundtracks and people who don't know who Nino Rota is, or Fellini for that matter, and don't really care who they are or what The Umbrellas have done to interpret Rota's music.

So who’s left interested? Maybe Fellini and Rota fans curious to hear a jazzy sextet's interpretation. Or perhaps the just curious, especially after reading that it's a really great analog recording.

The group, led by keyboardist and arranger Peter Dascent, features alto sax, brass (trombone and pocket trumpet), mallets (vibes and marimba), bass (double bass and tuba), and drums.

Rota's oft bemused and playful sensibility is reminiscent of Frank Zappa's, so the fat trombone, cheesy keyboards, mysterious marimba and laughing saxophone make appropriate noises to accompany Rota's whimsy—some may say here as heard in a Tiki-Bar.

"Amarcord" 's main theme is sublimely nostalgic so the group plays it straight and stays true to the sentiment. The Umbrellas hit perfectly the schmaltzy/wicked humorous part of Rota's music too, aided by mezzo-soprano Michelle Agius-Hall who sounds like a cross between a Theremin and someone playing a saw.

When Rota is not being playful he can tap deeply into nostalgia, producing the sensation you may have felt driving away for the last time from a home you grew up in or maybe returning for a visit to that home years later.

Rota expertly manages the emotions. You don’t need to see picture to get the picture and even though Dasent hasn’t got symphonic manpower, his arrangements make their points eloquently and intimately.

The recording is superb: instrumental timbres are natural, dynamics and three-dimensionality all you could ask for from a small ensemble recording, and I guaranty you will sit entranced throughout both sides as Rota’s music conjures up nostalgic imagery of the soundtrack to your life—along with a visit or two to the circus.

This is a sleeper release that only nudging will get some of you to buy, so I’m nudging! Take a chance! You’ll be glad you did. One less obvious reissue on the shelf, one out of the way small gem.