May 21st, 2021 will mark the start of the Italian label Hora Records with the release of Unscientific Italians Play The Music of Bill Frisell – Volume 1. The ensemble Unscientific Italians, led by Alfonso Santimone, features some of the most gifted performers and bandleaders on the Italian scene.

Born in 2008 for a small feature of the Italian collective/label El Gallo Rojo at Centro D'Arte in Padova, this project went into hibernation for more than 10 years and came back in 2020, with a revised lineup and repertoire, for 2 days of rehearsals, concerts (at Torrione Jazz Club in Ferrara) and recordings (at Teatro Asioli in Correggio).

Bill Frisell is undoubtedly one of the most influential masters in today’s jazz landscape. However, his compositions remain unexplored, perhaps because of a lack of critical distance, perhaps because their apparent simplicity hides impenetrable folds to those who lack the right perspective.

Musically speaking, Unscientific Italians is not a tribute or an orchestral rendition of Frisell’s music, but rather an idiosyncratic rewriting and orchestration that borrows his compositional and instrumental language. This work has also a documentary value, since it draws from a seminal phase of Frisell’s production – the early Nineties – that today seems to be neglected despite his unambiguous celebration by audience and critics.

This release is published on vinyl and digitally, with the blessing of Bill Frisell himself, who generously offered some of his sketches for the cover artwork.