Stolen Paintings

Stolen Paintings

Stolen Paintings is the weird and wonderful debut “solo” album from Salon Kingsadore guitarist Gianmarco Liguori. Working with some of Australasia’s finest jazz musicians, Liguori has come up with a world of sound that blurs the gaps between psychedelic rock, free jazz, lounge and world music.

“I’m not a jazz musician” explains Liguori. “But I’m really influenced by jazz. When I was writing the music for the album I was definitely writing with these guys in mind. I tried to stay in the background as much as possible as far as playing was concerned. I kind of just set up musical situations and gave them minimal instructions. I asked these guys to play on the album because I knew they could come up with what I was looking for without having to talk too much about it”.

Liguori teamed up with his friend and former trumpet tutor, Kim Paterson for the project, and through him got involved with the other musicians who appear here. The veteran musicians who contributed to the album have had decades of recording and performance between them since the early 1960s, in the United States, Europe, South America, Asia and Australia, performing with some pretty big names in jazz. The composer himself can’t read a note of music, so what was it like working with musicians who have recorded and played at such a high level?

“Well, they weren’t under any illusions that I was some kind of virtuoso or anything like that, but could see that what I was coming up with could be a good vehicle for their own interpretation & improvisation. Certain passages had to be transcribed though, because I couldn’t tell them which chords I was playing.”

Taking inspiration from 1960s film soundtracks, Stolen Paintings weaves a loose story throughout the album as though it were a soundtrack itself. It may be instrumental, but that doesn’t mean it should be taken as “wallpaper” music.

“I’m really interested in the fact that all these guys like Piero Piccioni, Ennio Morricone and Krzysztof Komeda had close collaborative relationships with the directors of the films they worked on. They were free to experiment and make music that has outlasted and lived outside of so many of the films their music was originally intended for”.

I know that some of the music I’m making could be mistaken as elevator music… Sometimes subtlety and wordlessness seems to add up to easy listening. Anyway, I don’t have a problem with the music being played in an elevator.”

Selected Reviews

Stolen Paintings is the weird and wonderful debut “solo” album from Salon Kingsadore guitarist Gianmarco Liguori. Working with some of Australasia’s finest jazz musicians, Liguori has come up with a world of sound that blurs the gaps between psychedelic rock, free jazz, lounge and world music.

Some weeks ago I mentioned having seen the group Dukes of Leisure play at the Auckland Observatory Skydome. On the same bill was Salon Kingsadore, also enjoying an appropriately spacey venue for music that took off on instrumental astral flights.

Ligouri is the guitarist with Salon Kingsadore but here leans more towards jazz than setting his controls for the heart of the sun. He called on his former trumpet tutor Kim Paterson, who got out his contact book and called sympathetic players such as keyboardist Murray McNabb, saxophonist Brian Smith, bassist Andy Atwell and percussionist Miguel Fuentes.

Influenced by soundtrack composers -- Ennio Morricone, Piero Piccioni
-- whose work complimented the visual work of film directors, Ligouri crafts music which is evocative, often has a vibrant Latin feel to it, and generously lets the other musicians have plenty of space.
-Graham Reid

What's most striking is the obvious confidence in the musical individualism here - a conviction that allows Liguori to outstrip the easy- listening brigade at their own game by forsaking the slavish devotion to rhythm of his contemporaries and producing music of emotional impact and true adventurousness.
-Roger Atmore

 

Gianmarco Ligouri: Stolen Paintings
Herald rating: 4/5
Label: Sarang Bang
Rock guitarist joins forces with jazz players, engaging soundtracks result."

Review by Graham Reid in the NZ Herald - Thursday November 2, 2006

"Guitarist Gianmarco Ligouri plays in Auckland's space-ambient surf-rock outfit Salon Kingsadore.

However, for his album Stolen Paintings he calls on jazz musicians, including his former trumpet tutor Kim Paterson, keyboardist Murray McNabb, saxophonist Brian Smith, bassist Andy Atwell and percussionist Miguel Fuentes. Influenced by 60s soundtrack composers, Ligouri creates music which evokes moods and images and - because he admits he can't write music - lets his fellow musicians expand the ideas in the manner of their choosing. There is a lively Latin feel throughout, but tracks move through musical moods and ideas with confidence, and your attention never wavers.

On the evidence of this album, Ligouri would be welcome back to this genre any time he wants.

 

Stolen Paintings
Like adding a dash of chilli spice to a meal, Gianmarco Liguori trickles into his debut solo album a unique 21st century twist to traditional guitar weaving. Better recognised as the guitarist of the endowed Salon Kingsadore, Liguori takes a leap into the deeper dimensions of music with this project. This album has an unexpectedly refreshing and diverse sound, demonstrated miscellaneously from one song to the next.

The album’s title track, ‘Stolen Paintings’ is a teasingly sweet piece to set the mood. It is welcoming with a flirtatious manner which is entirely appropriate for the blooming season. The stripped down ‘Trapdoor’ is an awakening contrast to the introduction. It is a slice of a native environment taken in its purest form. With a subtle, yet eerie feel, ‘Alpine Bossa’ takes the album deeper with a pleasant jazz pace.

Liguori demonstrates his diversity as an artist, and with the work of additional instrumentalists they create an exploring album. The perfect example of this is the appositely titled ‘The Wardrobe’ which mysteriously personifies the voice of, none other than a wardrobe. A step away from that are ‘Insect Beat’ and ‘Penta’ that have a new-age icing. One the most intriguing tracks on the album is ‘Kattorna.’ The songs itself is a journey, with a nomadic moral. It slips from one style of resonance to the next with ease.

Entertaining and blissful, ‘Jobim’s Cigar’ is a sweet and up-tempo track that is the antithesis of the following track, ‘Don’t Open The Window.’

Intelligently muddled, an agoraphobic echo encircles the song, and Liguori has been able to capture a scoped sound. To complete the album, ‘Mouth In The Desert’ slips back to the enticing impression that was initial in the album.

The distinguishable point about ‘Stolen Paintings’ is the crafting of the album which is assorted though fitting for a hazy mixture of dispositions.

The skill and inventiveness of the artists on the album is evident throughout. Liguori has created an accurate balance of up-tempo and more resolute tracks and indulgently searches for unique methods to present the music. Impressively, the fact that the album is instrumental is almost forgotten as the voice of the music itself communicates a narrative that can be interpreted, depending on character.

‘Stolen Paintings’ has enough variety to appeal to a wide audience, with certain tracks being appreciated more than others. With the headstrong amalgamation of genres in this generation of music, Gianmarco Liguori takes simple jazz to new heights.
~ Janise Kumar

The New Zealand album that I most want to celebrate in 2006 (aside from the obvious Veils album, which kind of goes without saying) is the superb 'Stolen Paintings' by Salon Kingsadore guitarist Gianmarco Liguori. He's put together a collection of some of my favourite New Zealand jazz artists, invoked the spirit of Morricone and made a really great record, featuring Kim Paterson, Miguel Fuentes, Murray McNabb, and Brian Smith. It will probably be noted in passing as a nice record by the likes of Graham Reid who have at least done it the courtesy of a good listen. But if the right people get their hands on it - it could be just as important and influential a record as the crucial mid-late 70s Dr Tree album, which is seriously overdue for a reissue. It has never been released on CD, for which the New Zealand music business should be ashamed.
-Andrew Dubber

Certainly the most unexpected release of this issue, Stolen Paintings is the debut solo record from Gianmarco Liguori, guitarist for instrumental group Salon Kingsadore and owner of Sarang Bang Records. You might recognise Gianmarco. He's the guy in the original 1950s Wayfarers, rifling through the jazz albums and sporting a black velvet coat. Gathering together some legends of the genre, including Kim Paterson and Miguel Fuentes, Liguori and his friends have created an authentic sounding product. With tracks like 'Alpine Bossa' and 'Jobim's Cigar' hinting at the sound within, this is equal parts free jazz, lounge and psychedelic world music. It's the stuff of cool Italian cinema; Morricone meets improvised jazz on a cruise ship full of spies. Intrigued? You should be.
-Matthew Crawley, Pavement Magazine

Previously known for his work in Auckland's Salon Kingsadore, guitarist Gianmarco Liguori is in similar territory here with the backing of some fine stalwarts of local jazz.
The liner notes set the scene for an exotic South American adventure and the players lay on the atmosphere, leaving your imagination to fill the gaps. The arrangements and playing are all class, and everyone involved gets room to shine. With a nod to classic composers like Ennio Morricone, they more than measure up with a racy cocktail of cinematic sounds.
-Jasper Skinny Arms, Manual Magazine