Aktuala - Aktuala

Both passionate collectors of ancient and ethnic instruments, husband and wife Walter and Laura Maioli got together in 1973 with sax player Caniele Cavallanti, guitarist Antonio Cerantola and percussionist Lino Vaccina to form AKTUALA (which means 'actually' in Esperanto). This is a furiously eclectic band whose Arabian, African and Indian themes are built around trance-inducing repetition. Apart from OREGON, they were one of the first to craft a coherent, gimmick-free hybrid of improvisional jazz with a pan-cultural approach to ethnic music, although theirs is much more loosely conceived than that of OREGON. They released three albums between 1973 and 1976 and then broke up. Walter Maioli is today recognized among Italy's foremost experts in prehistoric music-making.

Their second album, "La Terra" (74), is considered their masterpiece, surpassing even the more ambitious but poorly recorded "Tappeto Volante" (76). "La Terra" contains four extended instrumental tracks that combine Indian percussion, strains of American jazz and blues as well as Mediterranean and North African ethnic music. It features additional musicians each mastering yet another ethnic instrument: among them are Trilok Gurtu - who later went on to play with John McLaughlin and OREGON - as well as saxophonist Daniele Cavallanti and guitarist Attilo Zanchi, both now well-established members of the Italian jazz scene.

AKTUALA's material isn't kind to the symphonic ear: it is instinctive, primordial music full of dreamy darkness and mystery. Should please fans of THIRD EAR BAND, CLIVAGE and fans of free jazz and avant-garde.

1. When The Light Began
2. Mammoth R.C.
3. Altamira
4. Sarah' Ngwega
5. Alef's Dance
6. Dejanira


 The album opener is named perfectly as "When The Light Began", as in it a peaceful and mysterious mantra arises slowly from the void, and presents an aural landscape with exotic birds. In this grove we can listen to the beautiful acoustic guitar driven music, upon which tenor instruments do pleasant solos. In addition of acoustic guitar there's percussions enough for two players focusing on them in this music, and there are also some winds and harmonica, and string instruments. The overall feeling is very Near East oriented, and one can nearly see a water pipe's smoke trail being rising from the focal point of the turning vinyl and stylus. There are few different themes in this song, and this kind of music works pleasantly as both as ambient music or for more severe meditating. "Mammoth R.C." gets it's influence from Japanese music I think. It starts with a haunting flute, which makes space for solitary bass drums. After the solemn rhythms some kind of chaotic dragon dance begins, which then returns to the slowly pulsing rhythms of the drums. "Altamira" starts also with ethereal soundscapes, and the melodies of the winds have a slow and delicate dialogs over it, here feeling returning to the sounds of Islamic world. "Sarah' Ngwega" continues the wind driven feeling, but contains sadly also a nasty fade-out, and isn't even otherwise the most memorable of these tracks. "Alef's Dance" has a strong rhythm, with flutes soloing in an exotic Near East scale. Guitars also play an interesting melody, which is joined by a string instrument and flutes as the rhythm takes a turn to different direction. There's also a disappointing fadeout at the ending of this jam, though it's done a bit more carefully as many other fadeouts, as the instruments disappear to the void in different speed. The last tune "Dejanira" is very mellow and slow, driven by pretty acoustic guitar, and accordion and saxophone soloing over the strong blasts of wind and delicate percussions, being very calming and stimulating in the same time.