REVIEWS
Word on the Street
JOE LOVANO
“Mr. Pignataro is one of the most dedicated, passionate and well respected internationally known saxophonist, composer and educator today”
If jazz is a music of self-expression, it’s only natural that it should include autobiographical elements. Still, it’s not often that an artist presents a narrative as personal and sweeping as what saxophonist Marco Pignataro offers on his second album, Almas Antiguas (Zoho). -
J.D Cosidine
Some albums speak only to musicians’ collective talent and skill, the fruit of their labors worn like battle scars or trophies. Infrequently does music speak only to the joys of life, to calm, rest and love. But saxophonist Marco Pignataro’s second release, Almas Antiguas, is such an album. (4 stars & 1/2)
Ken Micallef
“Trying to place the music of saxophonist Marco Pignataro squarely in a single space, musical or otherwise, is a fruitless endeavor. His roots span oceans, his sound draws on myriad sources, and his open approach to influence and association(s) catapults him to another realm entirely. Yet all roads paved by heart and art in tandem tend to lead back to the Mediterranean for this man of passion and purpose. It's in that region, growing in the soil of Pignataro's fatherland, glistening against the waters of the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic, that his varicolored vision refracts and resounds with the greatest strength. “
Dan Bilawsky
Italian saxophonist Pignataro codirects the Berklee Global Jazz Institute. His sound falls somewhere between Coltrane and Getz, and his playing is also infused with what might be called “Italian soul.”
Bologna born, Boston based saxophonist Marco Pignataro’s ZOHO debut Almas Antiguas (“Old Souls”) is more than simply an wide ranging, eclectic stroll through a multitude of exotic, percussive global landscapes with greats Alan Pasqua (piano), Adam Cruz (drums) and Eddie Gomez (bass). It’s a heartfelt, alternately reflective and exuberant, multi-generational celebration of the love that flows through his culturally rich Italian and Puerto Rican bloodlines.
The songs that Pignataro presents on “Almas Antiguas” are full of emotion and art. It is one of the most interesting albums of fall 2018.
Dodie Miller Gould
BOSTON GLOBE
“ Marco crafts melodies and plays the kind of fluid, beautiful lines that make you want to laugh and cry . "Sofia's Heart" is so pretty it hurts.”
Steve Greenlee
KENNY WERNER
“With "Sofia's Heart" Marco gives us a vehicle to drop our defenses and feel all the joy and pain we normally suppress. One could not ask for more.”
JAZZ INSIDE MAGAZINE
“Marco's debut disc Sofia's Heart is post bop with a smidgen of free jazz, (mostly) original tunes with haunting soulfulness and an almost folk-like simplicity.”
Mark Karesman
JAZZ CORNER
“....hauntingly gorgeous new album..”
Robert Sutton
EL NUEVO DIA
“The attention to details, melody and beauty are the pillars of Marco Pignataro’s debut CD”
- Rafael Vega Curry
ALL ABOUT JAZZ
“The album (Sofia's Heart) as a whole is a work of art, one that reaches into the deepest recesses of the soul.”