Press
“The Lighthouse shines as a beacon on Andrea Veneziani, a firm, gentle leader with a sprightly sense of melody, keen ear for ensemble interaction, and a didactic nose to sniff out and codify instructive lessons. „
— Fred Bouchard - The New York City Jazz Record
“Bassist and composer Andrea Veneziani has assembled another gem of a recording with his latest, The Lighthouse.„
— Glenn Daniels - The Jazz Page
“I must say, Veneziani often, and always appropriately, comes to the forefront, demonstrating his high qualities not only as a composer and band leader, but also as a brilliant bassist. I would emphasize in this program such tunes as the elegant jazz waltz “Twelve Clowns”, the energetic “Bop-B”, the ballad “Gravity” and the light cut towards today’s almost mandatory latin jazz in the form of the final samba “Shunting Line”. Well, it can be stated that over the years Andrea’s music has won in the depths of musical ideas and has lost nothing in freshness and creativity. I think after listening to The Lighthouse, you will agree with me.„
— Leonid Auskern - Jazz Quad
“What I love most is the unusual makeup of his quartet, which includes Kirk Knuffke on cornet, Charlie Sigler on guitar and Allan Mednard on drums. You don’t often hear these instruments together in a small ensemble, and the resulting textures are especially tender and pensive on ballads and reverberating on uptempo pieces.„
— Marc Myers - JazzWax
“Veneziani’s swing factor is strong, his playing on the intimate numbers is responsive and conversational, and he’s a fearless improviser on the free pieces. A stellar debut.„
— Bill Milkowski - JazzTimes
“Veneziani is an assertive bassist with a strong, sharp tone. He solos superbly on Evans’ classic, “Time Remembered”.
Veneziani proves to be a distinctive tunesmith, with his scrambled and frenetic “Traffico”, his beautifully reflective “Night Flight” and “Mark Rothko”, his grey-shaded, minor key nod to the American abstract painter, which opens with a ringing bass solo.
Oltreoceano is a recording that demands multiple spins. New crags and facets of the music are revealed with repeated listening. Werner is exquisitely creative, and the trio is superbly interactive on this remarkable debut album from Andrea Veneziani.„
— Dan McClenaghan - All About Jazz
“Of the standards, Monk’s “Pannonica” and Parker’s “Segment” stand out. One of Veneziani’s best pieces is the shimmering, mid-tempo “Mark Rothko”, which features a solo introduction by the bassist.„
— Jon Ross - Downbeat
“Oltreoceano is a stunning debut and should quickly have Veneziani as a bassist to watch in the near future. Andrea Veneziani is far more than the next flavor of the month hanging out in odd meter or getting bogged down in a variation on the speed is king mentality. Veneziani is a prolific talent both as an instrumentalist and as a composer and Oltreoceano is indeed one of the very finest trio releases for the year.„
— Brent Black - Critical Jazz
“Bassist Andrea Veneziani leads a trio with Kenny Werner and Ross Pederson that shows the heart of a bopper as well as the mind of an experimenter.
Joy abounds with a dash of extra spice on this trio outing!„
— George W. Harris - Jazz Weekly
“Veneziani conceived a mature album, where the trio develops a complex and open conversation based on contemporary forms as well as on elaborations of tunes of the jazz tradition.
Substantially, we hear that modern way to conceive jazz that could be defined outside of any style, but it’s well conscious of its linguistic origins.„
— Maurizio Franco - Musica Jazz
“Oltreoceano is the wonderful self-produced recording debut of bassist Andrea Veneziani. The Italian-born, New York-based musician has a fantastic voice on the instrument and does terrific work as a composer make this a fantastic effort.„
— Glenn Daniels - The Jazz Page
“Though his disc with Werner is called Oltreoceano (which translates as “overseas”), it sounds very New York to American ears with Werner playing some of his most adventurous and challenging work in a long while.„
— Jeff Simon - Buffalo News
“A solid, sitting down jazz debut, he teams with Kenny Werner, who brings the chops to keep the wheels on the track, and art is born.„
— Chris Spector - Midwest Record
“Bassist and leader Veneziani has a warm upright tone here reminiscent of the famed Bill Evans’ bassists. What makes Veneziani’s tone so rich is its warmth and ability to accompany like a vocalist rather than a metronome.„
— Marc Myers - JazzWax
“Veneziani’s solos are as beautiful as the dancing of a big carp.
The aesthetic of the music contained in Oltreoceano is very delicate and strong at the same time. The whole album has a peculiar, indescribable suggestiveness and it’s moisture is special. Moreover, it’s heart and soul put into the movements of a plain natural posture, but it never goes too dry or too introspective. That means it is very well balanced throughout the whole album, like romanticism with a part of amusement. This music is fantastic.„
— Catfish Records
“The Italian, US resident double bassist/composer’s trio debut features his mentor Kenny Werner, and alternates between Monk-esque bop and something more meditative.„
— Selwyn Harris - Jazzwise
“With Oltreoceano, Veneziani has a chance to reflect on the last couple of years through sensitive arrangements that display his penchant for composition. After a brief interlude, the album opens with “Night Flight”. The piece is a Veneziani original presented in 3/4 time. It is light and opens with delicate piano before the entrances of Veneziani and Pederson set up an easy groove. The double bassist’s playing is warm. Another Veneziani original, “In Viaggio con Te”, invokes a number of time signature shifts. It moves effortlessly from a melodic opening waltz to 5/4, 7/4 and 4/4, all while keeping its pure tone and delightful musicality.
With a firm sense of jazz history and a desire to cross oceans of sound, Veneziani’s Oltreoceano is a swinging entry in what should be a very exciting career for the bassist.„
— Jordan Richardson - Canadian Audiophile
“Bassist Andrea Veneziani teams up with drummer Ross Pederson and featured pianist Kenny Werner for Oltreoceano. It is an excellent blend of originals and standards in a variety of tempos. They really swing on the cover of Charlie Parker’s “Segment” and “Traffico”, one of Veneziani’s originals. Each of the trio gets time in the spotlight and all are up to the challenge making this a formidable effort!„
— Oscar Groomes - O’s Place Jazz Magazine
“Oltreoceano is the type of record that will keep you interested from start to finish. Veneziani does a wonderful job, providing contrast and excitment in his repertoire. His trio features some of the modern jazz scenes finest musicians, making this record one certainly not to disappoint. Veneziani and the gang have accomplished what all musicians hope to share with their audience: creative, honest and genuine music.„
— Brent Vaartstra - Learn Jazz Standards
“Andrea Veneziani’s compositions are imaginative and lively, often constructed on the basis of danceable rhythms, and at the same time profound and trivial.
A mature and established composer and performer. I wish Oltreoceano will not be the last encounter with this talented musician.„
— Leonid Auskern - Jazz Quad
“Repertoire well conceived, musicians in great shape and a vibrant interplay make Oltreoceano a fine work, which reconciles with the formula of the piano trio, too often left at the mercy of clichés and tedious solutions.„
— Roberto Paviglianiti - All About Jazz Italia
“The Andrea Veneziani Trio, with the Italian bassist joined by pianist Kenny Werner and drummer Ross Pederson, exudes great spirit amidst dynamic interplay on the self-produced Oltreoceano.
This calling card of an album makes for most enjoyable listening, and is worth seeking out, particularly for jazz piano trio fans.„
— Stuart Kremsky - International Association of Jazz Record Collectors
