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Bruskers Guitar Duo (Italy)
"The impeccable connection" |
..." two leading figures in the music scene of the motley world of guitar"
Il Corriere del Veneto (Italy) – August 2012
…" bright virtuosity, respectful humor, not only technique but also originality and grace"
L’Arena (Italy) – July 2012
..." I recommend it for pleasurable listening and as a source of inspiration for guitarists"
Minor 7th (U.S.A.) – Febrary 2012
…" you forget the exclusive presence of the two six-strings in favour of the pure and simple pleasure of the music
stream"
Chitarra Acustica (Italy) – Febrary 2012
…"The Bruskers seem to be like oil and water, but they go along pretty well with each other. They succeed perfectly
in merging two completely different styles, classical and modern"
Folk Bullettin (Italy) – March 2012
…"cheerful music and finesse, a duo to discover"
My GuitarMag (France) – March 2012
..." it is a surprisingly fresh and energetic guitar dialogue, sometimes punctuated with humour, blending classical
and ‘sketchy’ jazz"
JazzWorldQuest (Canada) – December 2009
..."The Bruskers’ ideas are bright and energetic, playful and intelligent, as well as, yes, unconventional and lightly
fusionized"
Acoustic Music.com (U.S.A.) – July 2010
The Bruskers Guitar Duo are Eugenio Polacchini and Matteo Minozzi. They come from Modena (Italy).
The repertoire of the duo is a combination of traditional jazz and bossa nova standards fully reinterpreted,
and original songs. Classical and modern are the two different music souls of the artists, who choose to deal
with the jazz repertoire to have a pretext to meet each other on a common ground.
The Bruskers have been playing together since 2003, at first taking part to street-art festivals in Italy as well
as abroad: these experiences allow the duo to establish and improve the relationship with the audience.
Moreover the Bruskers have been invited to international guitar festivals (Arte a 6 Corde, San Benedetto
Guitar Festival, Acoustic Franciacorta) and to important shows in theaters and auditoriums (Concerti
Scaligeri, Concerti della Via Lattea).
The duo has published for the specialized label "Fingerpicking.net" the albums "Guitar Sketch" (2009) and "Addition" (2011). They have been positively reviewed by Italian and foreign music press agencies that
have referred to them as "a source of inspiration for guitarists" or as "two leading figures in the music scene
of the motley world of guitar". "The Bruskers – as remarked in a smart review – succeed perfectly in
merging two completely different styles: classical and modern guitar". "Guitar Sketch" and "Addition" have been sold in all European countries, America and Japan.
The Bruskers have played in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Hungary and Portugal, as a duo
or as soloists in the Lybra Guitar Orchestra.
Besides their concert activity, Eugenio and Matteo are also guitar teachers.
Website
Reviews:
Bruskers :
"Guitar Sketch" (2009) |
Bruskers
Guitar Sketch 2009
(Italy)
On Guitar Sketch virtuoso Italian guitarists Matteo Minozzi and Eugenio Polacchini give a personal expression to a set of ten well-known jazz standards. The album features also a beautiful piece composed by E. Polacchini. It is a surprisingly fresh and energetic guitar dialogue, sometimes punctuated with humour, blending classical and "sketchy" jazz. The beauty of the album as a whole relies undeniably on the clever interplay between the two musicians. Their musical personalities intersect, complete and compliment each other, spontaneously filling the right space, telepathically finding the right tone at the speed of sound. There is no cliché here, their swing is rather impressionistic and warm with an inventive twist to each song that often takes the listener by surprise.
Track listing:A Night in Tunisia;Blue Bossa;Black Orpheus;Little Piece in C for You;I Remember Clifford; All of Me; Not Tomorrow; Caravan; Besame Mucho;Take Five; Nature Boy
Musicians: Matteo Minozzi-guitar and Eugenio Polacchini-guitar
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| Latest CD: Bruskers: " Addition"
(Fingerpicking.net 2011) |
In Mahler's words "A symphony must be like the world. It must contain everything."
Although not a symphony, the analogy comes to mind after listening to the second album of Italian guitarists Matteo Minozzi and Eugenio Polacchini aka The Bruskers. "Addition" contains a suite of 13 miniatures or "movements" harmoniously integrated in an unitary stylistic "world" where classical and modern reach a refined level of fusion. The impeccable connection between the personalities of these 2 virtuoso musicians previously displayed on their first album, is clearly discernible on "Addition" and is not surprising that the result is again enchanting.
Yet there are many surprises on their new album that features nine jazz standards, three original compositions and a pop song. But these numbers do not tell about the essence of expression and clarity of music which is not only enjoyable but also touching.
What is delightful in the first place is the duo's personal perspective on evergreens such as Kendall Bright's Bright Boy, played here in an improvisational ingenious free style or the fresh flavored Minor Swing. Lullaby of Birdland receives a subtle bluesy-classical aura while Blue Moon is distilled through a classical filter. Finally a leitmotif from Sting's Englishman in New York is developped in a clever improvisation.
On the original compositions we can appreciate the duo's grace and inventivity that goes from a well tempered romanticism on "Cliffs of Moher" to a lyrical-capricious exchange on "Dreams of a black cat" . Notable the heart warming "La mamma e il bambino" a ballad of refined beauty. Yet delicacy does not mean lack of vigour or depth, "Addition" abounds in dazzling colors, rhytm breaks, humorous, joyful exhanges, unexpected twists and turns masterfully balancing composition with virtuosity. A special album for intimate moments.
Tracks: Alfie's Theme, Blue Moon, Cliffs of Moher, The Midnight Sun Will Never Set, Jersey Bounce, La Mamma e il Bambino, Bright Boy, Minor Swing, Dreams of a Black Cat,
Lullaby of Birdland, Jordu, Nuages, Englishman in New York
CDBaby
Mark S. Tucker - FAME - AcousticMusic.com (U.S.A.)
A really well integrated guitar duo can often outdo quartets such as, oh, the L.A. Guitar Quartet, whose arrangements frequently are lackluster or leave the players stepping on each other's feet…er, frets. The Bruskers are just such a superior twosome. Eugenio Polacchini and Matteo Minozzi present, in their own satirical words, "unconventional new snob jazz ideas" that are anything but snobby, instead bright and energetic, playful and intelligent, as well as, yes, unconventional (in the sense of extending interplay, trade-offs, deviations) and lightly fusionized—in other words, everything you'd hoped to hear when laying hands on the LAGQ, whose fidelity to the moribundities of the classical realm tend to smother. The Bruskers canon is a book of jazz standards and not-so-standards, plus a cut written by Polacchini. Latinate rhythms predominate as the seasoning of choice, thus we hear Bonfa's immortal Black Orpheus and Velazquez's Besame Mucho while bouncing over to the style Al Di Meola took when forsaking his Return to Forever days—travel, in other words, to world musics, though there's quite a same degree of the ingenuity shown in Guitar Sketch that was demonstrated in the work Al did with McLaughlin and DeLucia as well. Every so often, Kessell and Herb Ellis pop up, as in Little Piece in C for U, but I suspect Polacchini & Minozzi are rounded in their listening diets, as I hear Coryell, Byrd, Catherine, Hall, and others, even hot jazz (All of Me). The recording of Guitar Sketch is absolutely crystalline, every single note pure and undistorted, shining and effervescent, and the two gents' approach is damn near that of jam bands but with a finessy knowingness most such ensembles are thoroughly incapable of, hence my reference to light fusion (which, frankly, is here more than light but not of the wild 70s Brit fusioneers or Miles). The balance of the core of the originals when weighed against the pair's interpretations is engrossing and striking. Not Tomorrow, should he hear it, will delight Ralph Towner, whose unique posture is well echoed here, and Take 5 departs significantly from the charts while adding a page to the song's immortality…but then, every cut of Sketch is a finely faceted diamond of modern craft and intelligence. [FAME]
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