MARIA PIA DE VITO & JOHN TAYLOR & RALPH TOWNER
Verso
Provocateur Records
Maria Pia de Vito: vocals
John Taylor: piano
Ralph Towner: acoustic guitar
Recorded at Angel Studios, London in January 2000 and at Canterbury Studios in February 2000
Engineered by David Hunt
Verso brings together for the first time the exceptional talents of three outstanding musicians. The result is an exquisite work that radiates beauty through the care and commitment that each invests in the composing, arranging and performing of the music.
This international line up of Italian singer Maria Pia De Vito, English jazz pianist John Taylor and legendary American guitarist Ralph Towner is a truly sparkling combination. The seeds for this album were sown when Ralph Towner attended Maria Pia and John's duo concert in Italy, after which they discussed forming the trio. The results of this inspiring evening are now captured on this rich and colourful album.
Ralph Towner is simply one of the world's great guitar players; he has a body of work which encompasses his solo guitar work for ECM, the stunning long-term band Oregon, as well as numerous orchestral works and his outstanding contributions as a guest on many great albums. His keyboard skills and grasp of modern technology demonstrate that a rich imagination is at work whatever the occasion.
Maria Pia De Vito is a singer, composer and arranger who has studied not only opera and contemporary singing, but ethnic and world music and since the 1980s has been mainly involved in the jazz scene. Her exquisite and unique voice has led her to work and perform with jazz stars from across the world including; Kenny Wheeler, Michael Brecker, Dave Liebman, Joshua Redman, Elliot Ziegmund, Enrico Rava, Gianluigi Trovesi, Giorgio Gaslini, Bruno Tommaso, Paolo Damiani, Paolo Fresu, Rita Marcotulli.
John Taylor is one of the finest and most revered pianists in today's contemporary jazz scene. His music is known world-wide, and he has performed with many visionary and groundbreaking musicians such as: Jan Garbarek, Gil Evans, John Surman and Peter Erskine. In 1993 John was made a professor of Jazz at the Cologne College of Music.