STEVE LACY, ‘Outings’,
is a musical icon of the mythical travel and fight throughout the Labyrinth
(Polis Music, 1986).

“One of Steve Lacy’s finest records”.
Jean-Yves Le Bec – JAZZ MAGAZINE (France)

“An astonishing record”.
E. Vàzquez – QUARTICA JAZZ (Spain)

“A musical project that researches Mediterranean archetyped into myth, with something of the bite that Surrealism gave a similar battle-plan. Borges transformed the Library into an infinite maze of unrealised possibilities. Lacy has achieved something similar with music”.
Mark Sinker – WIRE (Great Britain)

“As a matter of fact, the makers of this solo record are two: its magnificent performer Steve Lacy and its inspirer/producer Gianfranco Salvatore. This enchanting record dedicated to the Labyrinth’s concept is actually the first fulfilment of Salvatore’s researches concerning the music archetypes of Mediterranean culture. A work of absolute significance”.
Claudio Sessa – MUSICA JAZZ

ROBERTO LANERI, ‘Anadyomene’,
is an East-West music work in presudo-Renaissance song-form related to the birth of the goddess Aphrodite and the power of the sacred conch-shell
(Polis Music, 1987).

“This record came from the collaboration of Gianfranco Salvatore, who is its ‘producer’ in any sense, and Roberto Laneri… Laneri has worked in a way such as a sound-painter, using extensively the sampling technology, in order to translate Salvatore’s mythical imagery into music forms and spaces… This music is like a quiet journey with a gathering of electronic sighs and hypnotic rhythms”.
Giuseppe Dalla Bona – MUSICA JAZZ

“Laneri has woven a remarkable, living tapestry of sound which involves, Tibetan monks, Persian drummers, Dahomey talking drums, bird noises and a conch shell orchestra. These, along with sequenced synth voices and electronic ‘noises’, go to make up a series of compositions whose scales and harmonies are inspired by the sacred and secular music of the Late Medieval/Renaissance. The total effects veers somewhere between the court of Henry on the razzle and Carmina Burana with constant radio interference and Battle of the Influences. But it’s always compelling and also throws up an interesting point: that the future of modern technology might well lie in re-exploring the past”.
N.R. – MUSIC TECHNOLOGY (Great Britain)

PHOENIX, ‘Fronne’,
Gala Records, 1989
(electric jazz reworkings of ancient melodies from Naples, and more).

“Lello Panico, the guitarist, and Gianfranco Salvatore, the producer, conceived and realized this great record… Panico is an authentic musician, his synthesis of the jazz sound is really advanced”.
Marco Crisostomi – AUDIO REVIEW

“Electrical, logical, unconventional music… Voices and fragrances from Naples are living in ‘Fronne’ between tradition and futurism… A positive debut”.
Mario Luzzi – SUONO

“Who’s afraid of cross-over music, if its results are comparable to the best of this album? ‘Par Hasard’, composed by Gianfranco Salvatore, is the highlight of the record”.
Giuseppe Piacentino – MUSICA JAZZ

CHARLES MORROW, ‘Hymn to the Great Spyral’,
is a musical dramatization of the archetypal experience of trance, and features David Liebman, Glen Velez, Burt Porter, Walter Maioli and the String Quartet of Teatro La Scala
(Nueva Records, 1990, unissued on record – only on cassette).

STEVE LACY, ‘Rushes’,
Innowo Records, 1990, featuring Fredric Rzewski and Irene Aebi
(chamber songs based on Russian dissident poems).

“Steve Lacy is like a sun among planets. This recording is Lacy’s stark settings of poems by Osip Mandelstam, Anna Akhmatova, and Marina Tsvetayeva, translated into English or French. Pre-glasnot gloominess, ascetic cleanliness, clever details”.
Kevin Whitehead – DOWN BEAT

“This precious record reminds us that jazz is research and evolution: it goes beyond the state of things”.
Nicola Sani – FARE MUSICA

DAVID LIEBMAN, ‘The Blessing of the Old, Long Sound',
Innowo Records, 1990, featuring Alberto and Carlo Mariani, Tiziano Tononi and the late master of launeddas Dionigi Burranca
(a blend of launeddas polyphonies from ancient Sardinia and post-Coltrane jazz).

“Gianfranco Salvatore, musicologist and researcher of the links between jazz and other musical traditions, has conceived and realized this ambitious and precious project that required more than one year of work… A masterpiece that, thanks to its clever originality, deserves a place in the history of music of this century”.
Mario Luzzi – DAC

“One of the most special recordings I have made… All my appreciation to Gianfranco for being the perfect producer”.
David Liebman (liner notes)

SONORA ART QUARTET, ‘Sonora’,
Innowo Records, 1990, feat. Jerry Bergonzi, Bruce Gertz and Sa Davis
(contemporary jazz).

AMATO JAZZ TRIO, ‘Filly Moods’,
Innowo Records, 1990
(unusual jazz compositions by three brothers from the very South of Italy).

“Gianfranco Salvatore has discovered this extraordinary family-combo: three brothers from a small village in Sicily. The leader Elio Amato is a very inventive pianist with a noble phrasing also on flugelhorn and trombone, and a dynamic composer with a multi-shaped talent… Amato Jazz Trio is now a splendid reality in Italian jazz, thanks to the enlightened production of Gianfranco Salvatore”.
Maurizio Favot – AUDIO REVIEW

GUITAR MADNESS, ‘Guitar Madness’,
Heron Music Records, 1990
(three electric guitarists plus rhythms, liner notes by Bill Frisell, George Benson, Scott Henderson and Frank Gambale);
# 4 Best Italian Group of the Year, Musica Jazz Poll 1990).

“From the idea of Guitar Madness, conceived by music critic and producer Gianfranco Salvatore together with Umberto Fiorentino, Lello Panico e Fabio Mariani (i.e. the most talented jazz guitarists in Italy), a sensational record has come”.
Valerio Corzani – VELVET

“Eclectic repertory, amazing arrangements and excellent solos in this valuable project realized thanks to the sagacity of artistic producer Gianfranco Salvatore”.
Maurizio Favot – VELVET

From the liner notes:
“Guitar Madness set a wonderful mood for guitar lovers and music lovers alike. The creativity expressed by these three great players shows warmth and beauty along with appreciation for the many forms of jazz and contemporary music concepts. Much can be said about this recording, but your own ears will confirm what I already come to know. Bravo, Guitar Madness!”..
GEORGE BENSON
“Guitar Madness has got great ensemble playing, impressive executions and arrangements, and incredible good sounds. They sound fresh and new in so many ways, not just redoing things that you’ve heard before, trying to push things ahead. And plus they’ve got what I really enjoy in music: like drastic changes even in one piece quickly jumping from one style to another”.
BILL FRISELL
“Guitar Madness has some very fine guitar playing throughout, with a nice open feeling to the music. Have a listen!”.
FRANK GAMBALE
“Guitar Madness has got great jazz guitar playing and tasteful arrangements. Good stuff!”.
SCOTT HENDERSON

LANFRANCO MALAGUTI, ‘Something’,
Nueva Records, 1990
(one of the finest Italian jazz guitarists performs avant-garde arrangements of the Beatles’ songbook);
#2 Best Record of the Year, Musica Jazz Poll 1990.

“Malaguti’s interpretations of the Beatles’ songs are very brilliant and full of harmonic and rhythmic inventions. They look like fairy tales… it’s a continuous stream of improvisations based on just melodic traces of the original songs. Unique and evocative…”.
Claudio Sessa – MUSICA JAZZ

VARIOUS ARTISTS, ‘Ci Ritorni in Mente. Dedicato a Lucio Battisti’, Gala Records, 1990
(jazz and avant-garde interpretations of the major Italian songwriter of the Seventies).

GIANFRANCO SALVATORE "Anima"
Esperienze Srl 2004

“With the fantastic, mischievous voice of Elisabetta Macchia, Anima sing and play traditional music from Salento and Mediterranean countries through rock, jazz, and rap sounds without losing in autenticity… Ethnic and electronic instruments melt down in a music that sounds ancient as well as modern ”.
LA GAZZETTA DEL MEZZOGIORNO

“Trance-music, often iterative and circular, otherwise simply dizzy… They sing the life in the country, the quest for peace, the mystic and sensuous body language of the Mediterranean world”.
IL MANIFESTO

“Great achievements from a music which transcends categories while carrying on the feeling, dances, and trance habits from Salento”.
IL NUOVO

“Through progressive expansions, jazzy improvisations and quasi-classical shapes, the tarantula lives on!”.
VINILE.COM

“A timeless project, an infectious and intelligent cross-over”.
LA REPUBBLICA-MUSICA!