Full Liner Notes:
After the celebrative homage to community in his debut album A Congregation of Folks (Gleam Records, 2021), the profound defiance in his second album What Reason Could I Give? (Fresh Sound Records, 2021), and the reinvention of sound and self in his third album They Radiate Energy Outward (Lyonhill Records, 2024), Daniele Germani steps into what I might call a celebration of tranquility against the unknown with his fourth album, The Alternative is Unthinkable (Fresh Sound Records, 2024).
This record sprouted from Germani’s artistic period of fascination for our universe. During this time, a great deal of inspiration came from wondering and learning about the greatness of our existence. I believe this outward focus arose after, and perhaps because of, the inevitable impact of that 2020 worldwide experience which I am tired of naming. When we were on the other side of it, I dare say, Daniele’s soul wanted nowhere to gaze but up and out. Thus, The Alternative is Unthinkable began to take form…
The album opens with Nowhere is Now Here, titled by Massimo Biolcati. This composition is Germani’s 500th song; subsequent fruit from his 2019 challenge of writing one song per day for a year. It is a medium tempo tune where the melody is persistent even in the solos. I hear this tune a call to being present. We are never nowhere. We are always here. And when we realize this, perhaps our extremes can come together. Followed by this is Bright Young Stars Burn, a high energy piece, intentionally brief to resemble the suddenness of being. It honors stars becoming and acknowledges that in any burning feeling there can be the birth of something. Then Daniele hits us with A lot Like This Moment, in which the form is strategic; created to give freedom to the soloists. “This is a piece for the pianist to get out of the canvas,” Daniele says “and Salisbury was amazing. He took the piece and lead it into a different direction, taking the story from my hands. The quartet became a trio.” The tune ends with an exposition of the beginning of the song in slower tempo. In a way, mirroring itself. Justin Salisbury then continues to hold the reigns of the record in the brief and stunning piano solo Salisbury Introducing Stellar Nurseries, after which, a conversation between the piano and sax emerges from Stellar Nurseries. Here, the energized drum and bass keep the music locked and steady while Germani takes off with the harmony, often changing it in an ethereal way. Much like the autonomous birth of stars, different musicians take chances at different times. Then, together, they bring us into what I might call Act II.
Tranquility emanates from the ballad, Fading Into Nonexistence, where musicians come together to fade away. Then the record seems to break the fourth wall with a tune titled Slow Down, written by Leo Genovese. Here, the melody is articulate between piano and sax, evoking patience within a build-up. Before entering the solo, we feel the consonance, and then, after the exposition of melody, it splits. First no saxophone. Then, a sax trio with no piano. Finally, the piano rejoins. After the journey of thoughts and imaginable things that have been touched in this project, we prepare to land. And in the next tune, we reason with what we’ve learned…
The Alternative is Unthinkable: a celebration in full blast. Salisbury outsets the tune like stage curtains opening. Germani illuminates the melody before soaring into solo. Giuseppe Cucchiara’s ingenious bass serves as a backbone of this odyssey. And Jongkuk “JK” Kim blasts off before closing with a vigorous drum solo, delineative of his incredible talent. Then, imminently, the quartet meets again. Reminiscent of Germani’s very first album, community is the star here. And the journey adheres to this with the next tune, My Folks. In this piece, the ostinato has an alluring variation of tempos. The meter changes, the melody absents itself then returns organically. For Germani, “The solo feels like driving fast on a highway. Going for it. Never stopping. Almost like floating.” And finally, with the closing tune of this refulgent record, indeed we float on a medium slow tempo. Musicians reuse the same melody over and over again. “Like a mantra.” Daniele says. The name says it all in the piece to say goodbye, (though for these cats, it is hardly)The End of the Story…
Lía Rivera Flaviá