“Bastarduna” is the Sicilian term for the second bloom of the prickly pear cactus, which produces larger fruit than the first.
That seems to be the effect the Covid-19 lockdown has had on tenor saxophone-favoring multi-instrumentalist, author and label owner Bob Salmieri, who since 1995 has performed, recorded and published music dedicated to Mediterranean and Arab-Sicilian culture, bringing to light Islamic influences in the sea which touches on Europe, North Africa and Turkey.
Having adapted successfully during the lockdowns, Salmieri — founder of Milagro Acustico group (a recording ensemble established in 1995), the Milagro Acustico Cultural Association (to carry out projects in Europe, North Africa and Turkey), the Cultural Bridge independent record label, Erodoto Project (a band) and earlier this year — is rebounding with renewed vigor.
“I have to be honest, in my life nothing has ever blocked me when it comes to composing or playing,” he said in an interview. “It’s my personality, that’s how I am; I also enjoy the time when I just study.
“When my lip hurts from playing too much, I feel physical enjoyment, so I have not been affected by the lockdowns. On the contrary, I have had the opportunity to experience new things and to meet new musicians.”
Salmieri explains how he first realized the pandemic was serious. “I remember well the first time I felt the impact of this pandemic. With Erodoto Project, we had just finished recording all the songs for the album Mythos – Metamorphosis. We still needed to record the string trio” — the Miro String Trio, comprising Fabiola Gaudio on violin, Lorenzo Rundo on viola and Marco Simonacci on the violoncello — “for the album, and this was scheduled for a few days later. Instead of recording, we suddenly found ourselves in what felt like a zombie apocalypse scenario or something similar. It was early March 2020 when the lockdown began, so there was no recording studio for the trio.
“Fortunately I have a small recording studio in my house, so, with great caution, we were able to complete the record by recording one musician at a time. It was a relief because Alessandro de Angelis, the pianist and co-author of many of the songs and myself, worked so hard.”
Salmieri’s music has distinct Eastern patterns woven and interlinked with Western idioms that create a hybridization of the cultures – which he calls “Mediterranean Jazz.” It reflects the merging and also the diversifying of the cultures which surround the Mediterranean Sea. Some of his projects have covered the historical mythology and folklore of the region, with tales and the music which narrates them originating not in countries but rather in more wide-spread cultures.
He himself was born in Rome to a family of Sicilian origin which had emigrated to Tunisia at the beginning of the 20th century — that’s where his father was born. He founded the Milagro Acustico group in 1995, and they have made some 15 albums, published in the USA and Italy, almost all dedicated to Sicilian and Arab-Sicilian culture. On three of them he has brought to light the immense heritage of poetry created during the Islamic domination of the island of Sicily; the Acustico group has also performed these in live settings. Salmieri has also published three books dedicated to Sicily and its history and culture.
In 2013 he founded Cultural Bridge to release recordings of jazz and world music (musicians on the label come from every corner of the Mediterranean region) and in 2015, he founded the jazz group Erodoto Project, with whom he has so far released three recordings and performed in Italy and Poland. When touring ended, of course he turned to his label.
“We carried out several projects during the pandemic,” he explained. “We would have made them anyway. The pandemic has not only not slowed us down, it has also given us a unique focus. To spend so much time solely on music was fantastic. From March 2020 to March 2021 we managed to put out Mythos Metamorphosis, ‘The Trip of My Father’ and as the Bob Salmieri Bastarduna Quintet, Mama Was A Belly Dancer. We also made a video of the album’s title song ‘And Mama Was A Belly Dancer,’ directed by Alberto Guerri.”
“Personally, this pandemic made me want to compare myself with jazz musicians from all over the world. I have always done it with my group Milagro Acoustic, making records and live shows with Turkish, Indian, Egyptian, African, Syrian and Iranian musicians. But with jazz, it’s new to me. I experimented with a single, ‘The Trip of My Father,’ playing with Italian, Turkish and Polish musicians and creating a sort of ethno-jazz with atmospheres that are difficult to reproduce if it had been made with only local musicians.”
Salmieri believes the future of live music and events has promise. “When the Alexander Platz Jazz Club in Rome reopened for a short time in October, I went almost every evening. I remember feeling great emotion. It felt like the end of the war and a return to the good things we had left behind. Maybe we had missed attending a concert in a club. People were excited, and at the end of the evening, no one wanted to leave, and we stayed outside the club talking for hours.
“Even in August, when I was in Sicily, it was great to play live outdoors. It was a big party, but then again in Sicily, it’s always a big party!
“Here, my optimistic perspective shows me a positive side to this pandemic. Perhaps for a while, we will pay more attention to what we take for granted, like going to listen to a concert in a club. I hope the future is full of excitement and interest in live music. Historically in Italy, we have had wonderful moments for live music of all genres. There was a lot of curiosity and desire to experience something that we have lost in recent decades.
“To add a personal thought: It is not the difficulties that stop people, it is only the lack of internal fire. If that is there, as it is for my friend Aldo, age does not stop you, neither the virus nor anything else. But if there is something which puts out the fire, unfortunately, nothing can be done about it.” Bob Salmieri demonstrates undimmed fire, as though he’s been fueled by the pandemic. Perhaps for some there has been a bright side.
