Personnel:
Geni Barry (vib, marimba), Albert Bover (p), Horacio Fumero (b)
Reference: SA 015
Bar code: 8427328450157
Geni Barry is not a newcomer to the jazz scene. He is not a recent discovery either, at least not for those of us who have been following his trajectory for years as a player of any instrument that requires being hit with mallet or drumstick to release its notes. In this respect, Geni has become a consummate specialist on vibraphone, xylophone, marimba, and a few other minor instruments of this family. But it is the vibraphone he cherishes the most.
Being a self-taught musician, Geni has always professed great admiration for his friend Bobby Hutcherson, who gave him a few lessons and pointers which, gradually, he has assimilated and used with great skill to evolve his technique and become one of the best European vibraphonists in the neobop style.
Throughout his career he has shared the stage with many European jazzmen, including Georges Arvanitas, Luigi Trussardi and, most notably, Tete Montoliu. Geni found in Tete not only a good friend, but also the master who would influence his trajectory in jazz the most. His destiny was written, and today nobody dares dispute the natural talent of this veteran of jazz, who is so young in spirit. Helped by his innate intuition for jazz as an instrumentalist, Geni has developed the use of his own technical resources, which he combines in a peculiar, very effective way; those elements, together with his praiseworthy energy and a commendable sense of swing, imprint his performances with his very unique personality.
On this CD, recorded live, Geni Barry on vibraphone and marimba, Albert Bover on piano, and Horacio Fumero on double basstwo of the most faithful representatives of European jazzprove that following tradition does not equal reliving the past; it is just a healthy way of enjoying the present.
—Jordi Pujol
"Anhel impossible it is quite usual that, when record companies I have a relation with, and friend musicians request I write a few lines to be included in their next release, they take the praises and kind treatment for granted. And yet as a critic and musical reviewer, I must confess that I secretly long for the musicians I loathe and find insufferable, to allow me, or even ask me, to write on the cover of their albums why I find their work completely devoid of interest, dull and utterly inconsequential.
Against my deepest desires, though, I find myself, once again, having to renounce my wicked dreams and keep dishing sweet, enthusiastic words of astonishment in front of the true pleasure Ive found between my ears.
First things first: in front of a trio with Geni Barry, Horacio Fumero and Albert Bover, I would not have had much of a chance, had I chosen to look for something to criticize. It has been a matter of pressing play, sitting down, and enjoying the music. There was no other alternative.
If the introduction by charismatic speaker Valentí Grauwelcoming us to the cozy bar of the Nova Jazz Cava de Terrassais already revealingly premonitory, everything that comes later is a fantastic immersion into the insides of the most primal jazz. The humanity, expressiveness, and warmth of a bigger-than-life Geni BarryTete Montolius own chamber vibraphonist; the wisdom, restraint and complicity of the always-enigmatic Albert Boverto whom Tete gave the dangerous honor of being his generational replacement, and the know-how, experience and class of Horacio Fumerothe squire of Tete on double-bass for over two decades, perfectly conjugate the essence of the quintessential jazz formation: the trio.
Intend on making this venture fit them, they have decided to pay tribute to all the great jazz musicians in whom they have found the glory and motivation to join this particular line of work (Eckstine, Weston, Monk, Golson, Rogers, Hutcherson, Jobim and Davis), thus becoming themselves master transmitters of a legacy as exquisite as it is necessary. The efforts of the trio, facing a challenge teeming with classics, turn out to be unquestionable, seductive, and simply proverbial.
With the exception of a single original composed by BarryVictoria, the remaining nine tracks make up an assortment of essential standards which, on the hands of lesser musicians would not go beyond worn-out clichés. And yet in the hands of this stellar trident, they are imbued with refreshing sonority, and an unquestionably captivating charm. Just try it yourselves, and you will agree that the degree of satisfaction is nonnegotiable. As for me, your servant, I will keep waiting for a crack to open so that these liner notes change from praise to loath. A most unlikelyif not impossibleturn of events, as long as albums as full of variety as I Want To Talk About You keep being released. An invigorating tribute to the great masters of jazz.
—Pere Pons
