LINER NOTES by Andy Hamilton

This album represents the first time that the Italian duo of vibraphonist Sergio Armaroli and pianist Francesca Gemmo have joined forces with the renowned London-born bassist Barry Guy. The Italian pair first recorded together as far back as 2017 when they recorded the album Luc Ferrari Exercises D'Improvisation in a quartet. More relevant here is that they also recorded together in another quartet on the album Prismo (ezz-thetics, 2020) which was released under Armaroli's name.

The album At Sotto II Mare is jointly credited to all three players and the album's twelve tracks are all jointly credited to all three, a tell-tale sign that the album's music was freely improvised. Although it is immediately clear that the music was improvised, at times it sounds as if it could have been scored, so tight are the three players that they fit together like pieces of a jigsaw, with no one leading the way but all of them following the collective path. With the piano and vibraphone following similar paths, it is easy to call up memories of John Lewis' piano and Milt Jackson's vibes in Modern Jazz Quartet, with Barry Guy filling Percy Heath's role on bass. The album's forty-eight improvised minutes are enthralling throughout, with all three players deserving praise and credit. Simply beautiful.