HackOut! - Cedrus Libani

HackOut! is a bass-less trio established in 2019 within the walls of Venezze Conservatory, Rovigo (Italy), comprising saxophonist Manuel Caliumi, guitarist Luca Zennaro and drummer Riccardo Cocetti.

The repertoire on 'Cedrus Libani' consists of six original compositions that aim to highlight the personality of each musician, by seeking the balance between harmonic structures and radical improvisation or acoustic and electric timbres. Plus an incredibly creative arrangement of The Beatles classic Yesterday, by John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

'Cedrus Libani' is the debut album by the trio.

Manuel Caliumi: alto saxophone
Luca Zennaro: guitar
Riccardo Cocetti: drums

The team is bold, brash and a bit quirky, but they keep it fluid and fresh. Caliumi works overtime repeating the theme of Exp 3 around Zennaro's askance strings, while the latter gets quite lyrical over the flowing support of sax and drums on Cedrus Libani. Cocetti changes tones and dynamics as he hits hard and bold during Please Try Again while leading the jabs and stabs for sax and guitar during On Off. Caliumi's reed is warm on a creative take of The Beatles' Yesterday while ambient effects close things out on the environmental Roots. They put the play back in interplay. - George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly