* En anglais uniquement
The members of Naples, Italy-based jazz-rock ensemble
Slivovitz (named after a Central and Eastern European plum brandy) can cite the exact date of the group’s formation: September 27, 2001, when, according to a Web interview with saxophonist
Pietro Santangelo,
Slivovitz came together after a spontaneous street jam. The group mixes jazz and rock with a variety of other styles, notably Balkan and Gypsy influences, which
Slivovitz began exploring after a 2003 trip to Hungary. The band’s eponymous debut album was recorded in 2004 and released by an Italian imprint;
Slivovitz subsequently signed with the New York-based MoonJune label, which released
Hubris (mainly new compositions but also including three remastered tracks from the debut) in 2009.
Hubris featured a seven-piece lineup (with several guests) -- bassist Domenico Angarano, drummer Stefano Costanzo, guitarist
Marcello Giannini, vocalist Ludovica Manzo, harmonica player
Derek di Perri, saxophonist
Santangelo, and violinist
Riccardo Villari -- enabling the group to engage in sometimes startling stylistic shifts from jazz-rock to Balkan, Afro-beat, funk, Latin jazz, and even tinges of Canterbury. Manzo’s appealing vocals accentuated the group’s sometimes breezy Mediterranean flavor, and upon her departure
Slivovitz took a more concise and high-energy rock-informed approach with 2011’s
Bani Ahead, their second MoonJune outing.
Bani Ahead also featured two new members: drummer
Salvatore Rainone replacing Costanzo; and trumpeter
Ciro Riccardi, whose presence (along with
Giannini's harder-edged guitar and a greater focus in the band's overall songwriting and arranging) gave
Slivovitz a punchier, brassier flavor and also brought interludes suggesting the cinematic influence of
Mark Isham. ~ Dave Lynch