From the liner notes:
Innamorare is Italian + means 2 inflame with love, 2 B enchanted…
This album was inspired by seven weeks in Tuscany in April + May of 1997.
Previews are high quality stereo, but limited to 2 minutes.
After recent excursions into classical and dance music, Liebert has returned to the simpler joys of his early ’90s works with his new Innamorare/Summer Flamenco (Epic). But there are a few new exciting twists this time: a vibrant horn section and more of a focus on Carl “Cozmo” Coletti’s trap-set rhythms, most notably. With their loping, gently swaying melodies punctuated by aggressive, percussive hooks, tunes like “Verano de Alegria,” “Spanish Steps,” and “2 the Night” are spirited, Caribbean-flavored reminders of Liebert’s first radio hit, “Barcelona Nights” – only this time with bursting brass harmony lines, extra kick (including drum and percussion duets), and subtle blues-organ underpinnings. Liebert has always balanced his exuberance with touches of melancholy, but here, even reflective moments give way to optimistic glimmers. On tunes like the tribute “Ballad 4 Santana,” Liebert weaves his guitar gently around Jon Gagan’s sly, mournful bass line before the horns spark a fire, which in turn spurs the guitarist on an upbeat tangent. With its brisk, 6/8 rhythm and colorful improvisations off a folksy melody, “Alameda” is a mariachi-styled piece that contrasts dark and light to great effect. As a producer, Liebert likes to take chances with instrumentation to achieve particular moods. Indian tablas and Mike Middleton’s muted trumpet spruce up the hypnotic atmosphere on “Desert Elysian,” while Eric Schermerhorn’s twangy slide guitar adds a dash of cowboy spunk to “Borboletta.”
– JAZZIZ Magazine Copyright © 2000, Milor Entertainment, Inc.
