Two Things Of Gold are a mother and son duo o Francesca Sortino and Diego Lombardo and it's more than a big pot from Rome.
In a departure from the straight jazz that A.MA Records are known for (like Enrico Bracco, Antonio Trinchero, Enrico Le Noci, Pippo D'Ambrosio, Opus Trio, Davide Peluso Quartet (not withstanding the remixes by Chicago's Elbert Phillips), Two Things Of Gold (let's say TTOG) are on the jazz end of beats n' Baleraics which maintains through this 14 track album.
You get a little bit of rap ('FIne', 'Where Flamingos Fly', 'You Go To My Head') but it's the whole vibe of "summer gentleness" that the band perfectly achieve; being Francesca (Vocals), Diego (beat and clarinet) with Roberto Rossi (horns), Alessandro Maiorino (bass), Alberto Parmegiani (guitar), Mauro Beggio (drums) and at times featuring Franco Piana (flugelhorn), Francesco Lento (trumpet), Sofia Ara (flute), Fabio Tullio (saxophone) and Pierpaolo Bisogno (vibraphone; 'Con Alma' and 'Wind Blows' are great!).
Francesco steals the show a couple of times, notably 'Nothing Gold Can Stay' and 'Malachi', but the single 'Rooms To Go' (and the next one, 'Wind Blows'?) are natural highlights (as is the afro-jazz centric 'Noru') and together with the 'band' tracks, like 'Nowadays', 'Con Alma', 'Lover' and 'Much Love To Earthward' work the best; perhaps that should be 'jazz-beat band' as, dare I say, Two Things Of Gold are a little Futuristica Music at times (wonder what Peter Franks would say about that?), a little bit early Cinematic Orchestra and equally, that other great Italian label that has produced such fantastic, nu-jazz, soul, funk, jazz, downtemp, Afro, Latin and more, Schema Records.
That said, the remix potential for a Reel People style 'Soulful Deep & Dope Ibiza' compilation is massive, (are you ready Elbert?) but for now, lets enjoy Two Things Of Gold as it is - trust me, it sounds better on every listen.
And it's been a really strong week for this kinda of laid-back soul-jazz beats; the more 'world' album by Eric Hilton with Natalia Clavier, 'Corazón Kintsugi' also being released (see review HERE) so there's only one thing to do, get both!
Artist: Two Things Of Gold
Title: Two Things Of Gold
Release date: 29th September, 2023
Label : A.MA Reforged / A.MA Records
Catalog Number : CD / Digital / Bandcamp
Artist: Two Things Of Gold
Title: Two Things Of Gold
Release date: 29th September, 2023
Label : A.MA Reforged / A.MA Records
Catalog Number : CD / Digital / Bandcamp
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