The Big Sound Album

CIOSI: THE BIG SOUND. AROUND ACOUSTIC ONLY FLATPICKING AND MORE (SELF-RELEASE 2018)
6th September 2018 by Daniele Cestellini

Disco for lovers of acoustic guitar, "The Big Sound" by Francesco Franciosi, in art Ciosi - direct and passionate artist we have already talked about in these pages - deepens the idea of ​​a story that is all personal and technically coherent. The album collects fourteen tracks in all: some of these are homages to the masters of the bluegrass and, in general, to the flatpicking, others retrace more explicitly the idea of ​​telling, in a more or less direct, some autobiographical aspects. In general, however, each step of this album participates in a circuit, a circularity, which brings everything back to the order of the guitar. This process obviously fits into the previous productions of the Italo-Argentine guitarist, even if here it seems to take on a more distinct profile. Thanks to all those elements that can be traced back to the passion always full of transport and intimacy with an instrument played with decision and competence. Perhaps more than in the past, in "The Big Sound" the guitar takes on a role that is not simply prominent (it is evident that it technically has it), rather it becomes a sort of unavoidable inspiration, which drives and above all orients the choice of contents, the 'order of tracks in the lineup, the narration of an interesting symbiosis between experience and the means to express it. From the words that Ciosi ponders in the notes to the album emerges that empathic circularity, which is not (we could venture) that the desire to question their instrument. By investigating the timbre peculiarities and the rhythmic or harmonic possibilities, but also extrapolating the characters that best denote it. That is to say the spaces that it generates when it becomes the only possible voice, the unique factor that drives the movement, writing and representation. It seems that Ciosi has managed to understand many possibilities, both when he addresses the past and the "classical" repertoires (there are, as I said, homages to the essential masters: Lester Flatt with "Rolling in my sweet baby's arms", JB Lenoir with " Alabama Blues ", AP Carter with" The Cyclone of Rye Cove "), both when he focuses on himself, interpreting memories, relationships, experiences and visions with different and always balanced guitars. The highest point of this circular ideal that surrounds the album is probably "Dream guitar", a song already present on the album "My first time" a few years ago. that here reappears in a new guise, thanks also to the presence of Gianni Sabbioni on the double bass and Massimo Tuzza on percussion. Ciosi dedicates it to his Santa Cruz model 1934 D Mahogany. And I find that this rebound fully gives the sense of the album and, in general, of the musician's inclusive perspective. Because it takes on the traits of a new musical narrative, thought "inside" the guitar, arising around a body that becomes more and more complex and complex. A body that is not (rhetorically) unique, or rather (realistically) multiple, which in the rebound of the perspectives of investigation disposes the significant elements in a new order. If you can talk about experimentation in an acoustic album and almost only guitar (in some songs you add double bass, percussion and harmonica), you can do it only in this sense. And I do not think it's a little bit. On the basis of this, then, the most profound pieces are born, in which Ciosi's attention is paid to the sound and the atmosphere ("Mediterranean's shell"), as well as the structure, for the decisive but elegant trend ( "To David", the homage to the flatpicking pioneer David Grier) and the solid rhythm ("Nashville Blues"), for the precision of a touch that does not inhibit harmony ("First snow"), for the opening to a melody and a profound scenario: "Silvia's eyes".

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Into The Wild Session Album

CIOSI: THE REVIEW OF INTO THE WILD SESSION
13th March 2017 of Francesco Nuccitelli

It’s always beautiful to hear an album, aspecially if the album in question, deserves a listening of great attention. Ciosi, name of art of Federico Franciosi, is a famous guitarist in a large part of Europe and not only, and he’s also the author of this gorgeous project, a CD that must be listened in absolute silence, maybe in the evening, on an armchair sipping a whisky, to taste the sounds and the feelings that it transmits.
“Into the wild session“, is an album where they reclaim pieces that has done the history, passing for different genres from the jazz, to the folk reaching the blues (and not only), readapted and rearranged, giving new sap and importance to distant songs from a cultural and musical context as that Italian. Ciosi, for this album uses some help (over of his acoustic guitar) of important musicians as: Larry Mancini, Max Pizzano, Pier Brigo, Matteo Valicella e Matteo Breoni.
The album contains nine tracks: "Sitting on the top of the world", "Beaumont rag", "Corrine corrina", "Wheeling", Sliding delta", "Maple leaf rag", "Blue monk", "Chesapeake bay", "You are my sunshine".
Let’s start to the first track, "Sitting on the top of the world", is a song of the years 30, brought to the success by Walter Vision. The present version is inspired a lot to the original, however well evident it’s the new arrangement with an explosion of lower part, guitars and batteries, one of the best pieces of the whole album.
"Beaumont Rag", it’s the second track and it’s an instrumental piece, from the strong characteristic folk, where the fusion of the different tools is noticed in the new arrangement.
"Corrine Corrina", it’s the third track and it returns to the fusion, voice more tool in Blues key, in this piece the bass push throught, who succeeds in placing side by side the voice, bringing us to the most classical of the American atmospheres.
"Wheeling", fourth track of the disk, it returns to the instrumental one with guitar acoustic and bass.
"Sliding Delta", fifth track and it returns to the blues stile, piece arranged in a more modern key and worthy of the best Bluesmen of the past.
"Maple Leaf Rag", sixth track, it presents a little news in comparison to the rest of the album, seen the presence of a piano to introduce the piece, brought before perfectly with the electric contrabbasso.
"Blue Monk", seventh track, where, acoustic guitar, bass and drum make the piece enjoyable in the listening.
"Chesapeake bay", eitghth track, originally written by Massimo Varini, it’s an homage toward this last, probably the best passage, entirely instrumental, contained in the album.
We closed with "You are my sunshine", country track originally, that manteins its kind but, nevertheless, it feels the touch of the author, that makes most musical, light and harmonious the passage.
An album that I warmly recommend to everybody, for the one who loves this kind and for the one that no (from this CD it could be learned a lot). A project that sees the consecration of a musician, that together with its acoustic guitar, he makes to emerge new feelings giving so new life to the music.

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My First Time Album

of Emilio Ruffo

Federico Franciosi in art Ciosi is a young author and acoustic guitarist in love of his tool, a passion that brought him with abundance to the study of the “flatpicking”, an American traditional technique, mainly used in the bluegrass that it’s characterized for the hit on the single ropes rather than simultaneously.
This path achieve today and for the first time, to “My First Time” its record job of debut. A production well-finished since the packaging, edited by Giovanni Moriggi, that is inspired to the wood of the guitars and to a simple graphics in country-blues style. There are eleven tracks who recall now at Jazz, now at Bluegrass but also at pop. With an impeccable sonorous resumption that the guitar makes acoustic ring real and warm with the plectrum, unique tool and prince of this record realization. With an impeccable sonorous resumption that makes the acoustic guitar real and warm played with the plectrum, unique tool and prince of this record production. All tracks are written by the same author to exception of two homages in honour of “stars” of the tool Beppe Gambetta ("Slade Stomp") and Massimo Varini ("Andrà tutto bene").
Nice the description of the humors of inspiration that Ciosi brings us on the inside booklet for every passage. In conclusion a big beautiful job for the lovers of the kind that could become accustomed to the music of Ciosi.

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