Beppe Ceccato Musicabile Tg Com 24 Blog

03/01/2025

I begin 2025 by bringing the story of Gianni Savelli and his latest work, Alisei, released last year under Alpha Music. Born in 1961, Savelli is an eclectic saxophonist, a professor of Musical Improvisation Techniques at the Luisa D'Annunzio  Conservatory in Pescara, and a musician with an extensive career spanning both national and international stages. He has performed in orchestras and prestigious collaborations, from the PMJO – Parco della Musica Jazz Orchestra (which, alas, no longer exists) to artists such as Natalie Cole, Javier Girotto, Ornella Vanoni, Riccardo Cocciante, Renato Zero, Antonello Venditti, Luca Barbarossa, and Marina Rei.

His artistic voice is primarily expressed through his quintet, Gianni Savelli Media Res, where he is joined by Fulvio Sigurtà on trumpet, Enrico Zanisi on piano, Luca Pirozzi on bass, and Alessandro Marzi on drums and percussion.

The Essence of Alisei

Alisei marks the fourth album in Savelli's Media Res project. "I only release music when I need to convey something to those who listen," he tells me. His previous album, Magellano, which I strongly recommend if you haven't listened, was released in July 2015. "Alisei is its continuation," he explains, "where the themes explored in Magellano—journeys, oceanic depths, adventure, and the perpetual search inherent to human nature—resurface once again." This time, however, these concepts are approached with a deeper and more deliberate reflection.

The name Media Res is inspired by a literary concept coined by Horace in his Ars Poetica to describe a narrative technique where a story begins in the middle of the action. For Savelli, this idea extends beyond literature and music—it encapsulates his philosophy of "being in the middle" of music, society, politics, and the world around him.

Here, the idea of Mediterraneanness becomes particularly significant: music is a borderless territory, open to influences, cultural exchanges, and inclusion. It follows the natural migrations of humankind.

"I Release Music Only When There Is a Deep Reason"

Alisei arrives a full ten years after your last album…

"It is the continuation of a project that has been with me for a long time. I haven't released many records because I don't want to waste music unless I find a strong motivation behind it. That said, I already feel the urge to make a new album. Time moves on, and I must move with it! I've been fortunate to do this job for many years—since I was 19. I lived through a time when this profession allowed for a broad, eclectic, and continuous experience, the complete opposite of what's happening today.

As a professor at the Conservatory, I see young students facing an entirely different reality than when I started in the early '80s. I've played all kinds of music, and I was fortunate that many of those opportunities were in the 'big leagues.' But I never had any musical prejudices. Of course, as a saxophonist, jazz was the most natural path.

When I turned 40, I asked myself the classic questions: What do I truly want to do? Who do I want to be? I started searching for something deeper, drawing from all my accumulated experiences. It was a journey of self-exploration—of my past, my passions. As a young musician, I had a natural inclination for composition, I studied jazz arranging, and I've always been fascinated by orchestration."

A Journey Into the Unknown

Your approach to composing Alisei seems like a voyage into the unknown.

"It pairs naturally with Magellano. While working on that album, I read extensively about the explorer, including the journal of Antonio Pigafetta, one of the few survivors of that historic voyage. The 16th century saw a surge of navigators and explorers—many embarked on journeys, but only a few returned. We know of Magellan because someone documented his journey.

Life follows the same pattern: we are born without knowing anything about ourselves and grow by exploring and making new experiences. This human yearning for discovery—the most defining trait of Homo sapiens—fascinates me. As a child, I was obsessed with Emilio Salgari's adventure novels. I read and re-read them all. When I later discovered that Salgari had never once set foot on a ship, I was stunned by the precision of his descriptions—his ability to bring exotic landscapes, jungles, and distant lands to life purely through knowledge and imagination."**

From Cinema to Music: The Story Behind Melodia Sottomarina

I particularly love Melodia Sottomarina…

"The first notes of that piece came to me long ago, but I set them aside for years, unsure how to develop them despite many attempts.

Then, I became fascinated by Roberto Rossellini. His first short film, Fantasia Sottomarina (1940), was shot in a small house in Ladispoli, where he had an aquarium. It tells the story of two fish in love and the struggles of marine life in the depths of the sea.

This underwater world, this realm of life, darkness, and fluidity, inspired me to revisit that unfinished composition. For me, composing is like an obsession, an endless battle—I create imaginary films in my mind, complete with characters and scenes that help me develop the musical narrative."**

A Passion for Orchestration

Your work suggests a deep passion for orchestration.

**"Absolutely. I adore late 19th- and early 20th-century composers—Ravel, Debussy, Stravinsky, Bartók…Schönberg fascinates me immensely. The orchestra is a world of infinite colors, timbres, and sensations—my favorite realm.

While electronic music has its place, nothing compares to the way acoustic instruments communicate with each other. I spent much of my career in orchestras, particularly with the PMJO (Parco della Musica Jazz Orchestra). We toured the world, delivering performances of extraordinary quality.

Unfortunately, the orchestra dissolved due to political and financial issues—a tragic loss. We had an incredible synergy among musicians, performing two to three entirely new repertoires every month, often at the highest artistic level, alongside legends like Mike Stern, Bob Brookmeyer, Maria Schneider, and Kenny Wheeler.

An ensemble of such caliber can only be built through consistent, long-term collaboration. Losing that was a huge blow, but I still carry that orchestral experience in everything I do."**

The Saxophone: An Instrument Without Boundaries

Why did you choose the saxophone?

**"My musical journey was gradual. In middle school, I started with the recorder. As a teenager, I was inevitably drawn to rock music. The first album I bought was Welcome by Santana (a 1973 experimental album that followed the legendary Caravanserai). The title track was actually written by John Coltrane.

That album also featured Alice Coltrane, John's wife. It was Coltrane who made me fall in love with the saxophone. Later, I was captivated by Weather Report.

The saxophone's chameleon-like quality is what draws me in. Unlike the clarinet, which has three or four tonal variations, the tenor sax sounds entirely different when played by Coltrane, Stan Getz, Sonny Rollins, or James Senese. This limitless versatility is what I constantly seek in my playing.