VINCENZO VIRGILLITO, Precondition

Aside from the fascinating array of sounds Vincenzo Virgillito creates via his double bass, electric bass, Fretless 5 and 4 strings and analog pedals, perhaps the most important aspect of the Italian musician/composer’s solo unaccompanied debut album Precondition is that it introduces us to a formidable European jazz talent.

Having studied at Istituto Musicale and Conservatorio di Musica, Virgillito has been a busy studio and performing musician, working with, among others, Mater Matuta, the Portrait en Jazz Méditerranéen and in 2015 co-founded the group Unfired But Exploded. The name of his ensemble applies perfectly to the breathtaking playing and offbeat presentation he offers on Precondition.

While the thoughtful and intricate melodic content on pieces like the acoustic opener “Through Windows” and inviting, soulful gems like the tribute “Word Drops (Jaco’s Midnight)” and a plucky stroll through Charles Mingus’ perennial setpiece “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” is engaging and infectious, 42 minutes of just the bass demands a lot of patience even with the variety of rhythms he fashions. Then there’s the truly off the beaten path, avant-garde oddities of the five “Reset” pieces, which are mostly experiments with distortion that are intended for thematic connection between pieces but ultimately distract from the more appealing overall content.

Virgillito still gets mad respect for his creativity with his shapeshifting spin on “Danny Boy (remembering Bill Evans)” and for the beauty and passion he brings to the project’s true emotional centerpiece “Stars in the Mirror (my sons),” in which he uses overdubs and sonic effects to convey the unique complexity of parental love and human relationships.