CASSANI / CAMPBELL
Cassani / Campbell brings together the utterly unique Scottish-based Italian double bassist and songwriter, Roberto Cassani, and the hugely gifted saxophonist, and composer Fraser Campbell, a Scot who has lived for the last decade in New York.
Their debut album arose from outdoor jams in Fraser’s hometown of Perth (and Roberto’s adopted home) where he’d returned for lockdown and its title poet /shuts / clock is the what3words geolocation tag for the bench on the city’s North Inch park where they’d meet to play. Released in 2023 on US jazz label Sunnyside, the album combines spontaneous lyrics, quirky spoken word, bossa nova and the blues to create an unforgettable listening experience.
Earlier in lockdown, Roberto released Ansema, a joyous album featuring songs in the very localised and little-heard Rivoltano dialect of his hometown Rivolta d’Adda in northern Italy. Recorded with some of Scotland’s finest traditional musicians, the album rightly received rave reviews.
They’ve now put together a band that will combine material from both albums along with songs from Roberto’s Italian language collection Cantico and some new instrumentals in their live sets. It features the brilliant Scottish pipes and low whistle virtuoso Ross Ainslie, alongside guitarist Graeme Stephen and Doug Hough on drums, both hugely distinctive and accomplished musicians.