Aktuala - La Terra (1974/2013) [FLAC] torrent

Aktuala - La Terra (1974) [Reissue 2013]

Genre: Italy, Progressive Folk Rock

Tracklist:

01. Mina
02. Mud
03. Sar
04. La Terra
05. Dagli Etruschi a Picasso (Bonus track)

Total time: 36:37

Personel:
- Walter Maioli / arabic oboe, wooden flute, naj, bass flute, maranzano, bass harmonica, reeds, whistles, bells
- Daniele Cavallanti / Soprano saxophone
- Antonio Cerantola / acoustic guitar, balalaika
- Lino "Capra" Vaccina / maroccan bongos, koborò, african drums, tabla, gong, xylophone, whistles, cymbals, musical bow, percussion
- Otto Corrado / Soprano saxophone, flute, bells
- Attilio Zanchi / acoustic guitar
- Marjon Klok / harp, Tamboura, bells
- Trilok Gurtu / tabla, snake drums, maroccan bongos, cymbals, xylophone, cow bells


Both passionate collectors of ancient and ethnic instruments, husband and wife Walter and Laura Maioli got together in 1973 with sax player Caniele Cavallanti, guitarist Antonio Cerantola and percussionist Lino Vaccina to form Aktuala (which means 'actually' in Esperanto). This is a furiously eclectic band whose Arabian, African and Indian themes are built around trance-inducing repetition. Apart from Oregon, they were one of the first to craft a coherent, gimmick-free hybrid of improvisional jazz with a pan-cultural approach to ethnic music, although theirs is much more loosely conceived than that of Oregon. They released three albums between 1973 and 1976 and then broke up. Walter Maioli is today recognized among Italy's foremost experts in prehistoric music-making.
Their second album, "La Terra" (74), is considered their masterpiece, surpassing even the more ambitious but poorly recorded "Tappeto Volante" (76). "La Terra" contains four extended instrumental tracks that combine Indian percussion, strains of American jazz and blues as well as Mediterranean and North African ethnic music. It features additional musicians each mastering yet another ethnic instrument: among them are Trilok Gurtu - who later went on to play with John McLaughlin and Oregon - as well as saxophonist Daniele Cavallanti and guitarist Attilo Zanchi, both now well-established members of the Italian jazz scene.