Italian Stallion

Five years ago, Sicilian saxophonist Gianni Gebbiaknocked out local improv fans with a series of stunning live shows on his debut West Coast tour. His Mediterranean approach to global-minded musicmaking -- from wistful meditations and pazzo (crazy) jazz to playful folk dances and sober futuristic blowouts -- struck a chord with Bay Area improvisers such as experimental instrument builder Tom Nunn and anything-goes percussionist Gino Robair, who is about to issue two new Gebbia CDs on his Rastascan label. "No other saxophonist has the chops he has and that distinct Italian sound, which is really unique," says Robair during a recent phone conversation. "Plus, his technique is amazing."

Sicilian saxman Gianni Gebbia toots his own horn.

Sicilian saxman Gianni Gebbia toots his own horn.

Details

With local musicians at 8:15 p.m. Sunday, April 13

Admission is free

(510) 649-8744

www.bayimproviser.com

ACME Observatory at Tuva Space, 3192 Adeline (at Fairview), Berkeley

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More About

• Gino Robair
• Tom Nunn
• Gianni Gebbiaknocked
• Palermo
• Garth Powell

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In the liner notes to his second solo album, Arcana Major/Sonic Tarots Session, Gebbia explains that the 22 tracks "were realized [by] choosing a card and just improvising on it." From this simple formula, the Palermo native explores a personal interpretation of the Tarot mystique. On "No Name (Death)," he uses circular breathing to produce winding phrases that bubble up with lively, colorful overtones. On "Force," Gebbia makes the muted movement of his fingers on the keys (rather than full-blown notes) the powerful focus of the piece.

This kind of outside-the-box creativity is what drew home-grown adventurers Robair, Nunn, Damon Smith (bass), and Garth Powell (percussion) to Gebbia's native soil a few years back for the Dreamin' California Festival, a three-day concert that paired some of Sicily's and San Francisco's most dynamic improvisers. Though recorded in a studio a couple of days after the gig, A Night in Palermocaptures the ecstatic mood of no-holds-barred live performance. From a spectral voyage with Nunn to a junkyard jamboree with Robair, Gebbia flexes all his musical muscle, and the Bay Area heavyweights respond in kind.