Blue Prelude Marilena Paradisi & Natalino Marchetti

• 1 Here's that Rainy Day 04:07
• 2 On a Clear Day 05:15
• 3 I Waited for You 04:49
• 4 Ana Maria 04:15
• 5 Always and Forever 04:02
• 6 Blue Prelude 03:48
• 7 I Remember 03:45
• 8 Luiza 04:44
• 9 St Vitus Dance 02:25
• Total Runtime 37:10

Info for Blue Prelude

With her unique artistic journey, recognised by international critics, vocalist Marilena Paradisi brings to Blue Prelude the full depth of her contemporary improvisational vocal exploration, making it her own distinctive stylistic hallmark. On this, her tenth album - the third released by Losen Records - jazz rediscovers its expressive purity, stripped of all artifice.

In a musical dialogue with accordionist Natalino Marchetti, an important figure in contemporary jazz, Marilena Paradisi constructs a sonic universe of rare intensity, where the accordion transfigures into an avant-garde chamber orchestra, capable of generating unusual resonances and almost mystical depths.

In the most fragile pianissimo and the densest fortissimo, the two artists seem to merge into a single improvisational breath. The vocalist traverses the registers with chameleonic versatility, shifting vocal colour and density between an introduction and a theme, while Natalino Marchetti's orchestral accordion continually amplifies her nuances. An infinite instrument, the accordion sometimes disguises itself as a bass clarinet, sometimes as a string section, while the sound of fingers on the keys becomes a rhythmic, percussive caress that envelops the voice.

The choice of repertoire is overwhelmingly beautiful; Jim Van Heusen, Burton Lane, Dizzy Gillespie, Wayne Shorter, Pat Metheny, Gordon Jenkins, Stephen Sondheim, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Horace Silver - compositions by authors with such varied atmospheres seem to communicate with each other, held together by the incredible expressive coherence of the two interpreters.

Marilena Paradisi, vocals
Natalino Marchetti, accordion

Recorded, mixed and mastered January 17 & 18 by Clive Simpson at Studio Extra Beat, Rome, Italy
Produced by Marilena Paradisi & Natalino Marchetti

Marilena Paradisi
Vocalist, composer, improviser, tireless explorer and experimenter in the use of the human voice, Marilena’s work ranges from jazz to total improvisation and contemporary classics. She was ranked among “the Best New Talents” and has released as many as 7 albums as a leader, in collaboration with important Italian and International musicians. She has studied jazz, ragas and hindustani classical in India, having performed with great Indian pianist Louis Banks and his trio at the Bangalore Jazz Festival. In the context of Contemporary Classical Music, she has been the Lead Voice (soprano) for the Nucleo Theatron Ensemble del Cristiano Serino Etere Project in a world premiere at Vivaverdi Multikulti Festival. Her teaching incorporates basic psycho-physical training that allows the singer to fit with ease in professional contexts, namely Jazz, Rock and R&B including all the modern techniques such as Fry, Screaming, Twang and Belting. Additionally, the technical approach of her program also covers all the typical pathologies of vocal styles that put the vocal chords at risk (rock, heavy metal, musical)

Natalino Marchetti
has been playing music for his entire life. He began at the age of eight, almost by chance: his mother took him to a music school because she was fascinated by the traditional organetto, but it was the accordion that would change his destiny. She insisted that her son study this “different” instrument, rather than the piano he initially wanted. More than forty years later, that choice proved to be prophetic: thanks to the accordion, Natalino did not become “just one among many”, but one of the musicians who have most contributed to the growth, artistic dignity and contemporary evolution of this young and everndeveloping instrument.

His human and musical formation is rooted in the dance halls of the late 1980s. At twelve, he was already playing in large Saturdaynnight dance orchestras, alongside adult musicians from the Army and Carabinieri bands. There he learned what no school could teach: how to read an audience, feel the atmosphere of a room, understand what is needed in that very moment and respond with exactly the right music. At fourteen, while his peers were celebrating New Year’s Eve, he was already earning his first fees playing live: a precious artistic training ground, in an era when everything was performed for real, without backing tracks or computers.

When he realised that the accordion still had no official academic path in Italian conservatories, Natalino decided to build exceptionally solid foundations himself. He entered the Conservatory and obtained a Piano Degree with full marks, studying Bach, Chopin, the WellnTempered Clavier, pianistic technique, harmony, counterpoint and composition in depth. Later he discovered his love for jazz and went on to earn an academic Jazz Degree as well. In parallel, he deepened his understanding of music pedagogy and the psychology of learning, achieving a qualifying degree in music education. Today he is a tenured teacher of Music Education in the Italian public school system.

Alongside his studies, he distinguished himself in major national and international competitions: – Second place at the Castelfidardo International Competition, with a special prize as best Italian musician. – Second place at the CMA World Trophy. – Second place at the CIA Coupe Mondiale. In addition to numerous first prizes in national and international competitions.

His concert career has led him to perform at prestigious festivals and institutions in Italy and abroad. Among the most representative milestones: – the recent tour in Canada, with concerts for the Italian Cultural Institute in Montréal and at the prestigious Carrefour Mondial de l’Accordéon; – Umbria Jazz 2022 (Galleria Nazionale Umbra); – the Archaeological Site of Petra, one of the Seven Wonders of the World; – Teatro Regio di Torino; – the Festival Internacional de Música de Cámara in Santiago de Cali (Colombia); – Crossroads and Ravenna Jazz Festival; – Casa del Jazz (Rome); – Teano Jazz Festival; – Auditorium Ara Pacis (for the “Musei in Musica” series – Rome); – Vittoria Jazz Festival; – Locomotive Jazz Festival; – the festival “Bari in Jazz”; – the Spanish Cultural Institute in Bogotá (Colombia); – the Italian Cultural Institute in Lisbon (Portugal); – collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute in Zagreb, with a concert in the city of Zadar; – the “Montis Regalis” Academy in Mondovì; – Teatro Franco Parenti in Milan; – guest soloist at the prestigious Klighenthal International Competition (Germany); – guest soloist at the important “Città di Castelfidardo” International Competition.

Encounters have played a central role in his artistic journey. A special place is reserved for Luca Aquino: a major jazz trumpeter with a unique and immediately recognisable sound, regarded by Natalino as a true master of music and of life. Alongside him, Marchetti has collaborated with Danilo Rea, Javier Girotto, Marcello Rosa (a pioneer of Italian jazz), Gabriele Mirabassi, Peppe Servillo, Mariella Nava, Mario Corvini, violinist Luca Ciarla, Fabio Zeppetella, Galatea Ranzi, Susanna Stivali, Pietro Ciancaglini, Max Ionata, Michael Rosen, Simone Alessandrini, Pasquale Innarella, Fabio Giachino, Francesco Belli, Marco Siniscalco, Sergio Vitale, Fabio Maria Capitanucci, Enrico Bracco and many others.

His discography includes: – “Italian Songbook”, with Luca Aquino, Danilo Rea and the Benevento Philharmonic Orchestra (ACT). – “Piaf”, with arrangements by Mario Corvini and the Young Art Jazz Ensemble (WOW Records). – “IndieJazzStore”, in duo with Simone Alessandrini (Barvin). A symbolic moment of consecration came when the golden cast of his right hand was placed on permanent display at the International Museum of Great Accordionists’ Imprints: an honour reserved for those who have left a deep mark on the history of the instrument.

Today, after fortyntwo years of intensely lived music, Natalino Marchetti is regarded as one of the most significant interpreters and innovators of the contemporary accordion. His artistic voice combines virtuosity, emotional depth, musical culture and a rare authenticity: a life dedicated to transforming a young instrument into a language capable of moving, inspiring and speaking directly to the listener’s heart.

This album contains no booklet.