Drums of Vito Rezza

Ace Toronto percussionist delivers his best work yet

Considering the explosive energy of his world-renowned drumming style, it may surprise some to find that Vito Rezza is a deeply thoughtful and introspective person once he is away from his kit. Tandem discovered that in our recent interview, as Vito was clearly more at ease discussing questions of philosophy than in promoting his new album.
He has studied with a Zen master and practiced martial arts (tae kwon do) for more than two decades, and he credits such disciplines with improving his abilities as a musician and actor.
The strengths of the Toronto-based Rezza's fifth album, Drums Of Avila, certainly speak for themselves. This is his most adventurous and accomplished work to date, but he is quick to apportion the credit for that to his producer, fellow Italo-Canadian Peter Cardinali.
"Yes, I wrote six of the nine songs, but this record is about Peter's vision. He is just so great at everything he does. He is one of the best producers in the world, the most recorded bassist in the country, and the CEO of his own record label [ALMA]. He has an honest passion for what he does, and he is both innovative and magnetic."
Together, this dynamic duo used six different record studios in three cities (Toronto, New York and Bratislava), working with an all-star cast to craft Drums Of Avila. "Peter is a groove-oriented guy," explains Vito. "He knows when it is not happening, and he knows how to discuss that with you. And he has phenomenal ears. He knows how to listen."
Rezza does acknowledge that "at times I did feel a little harnessed, or reined in." The powerhouse drumming that is his trademark is not strongly in evidence on the disc, though he does some great paired percussion with fellow virtuoso Vinnie Colaiuta on "Manhattan Bounce." Other major jazz stars featured include saxman Michael Brecker, organist Joey DeFrancesco, harmonica legend Toots Thielemans, and Toronto's own Guido Basso and Kevin Breit.
The album does showcase Vito's maturity as a composer of sonically rich and satisfying material. His work with longtime band 5After4 has usually been put in the jazz-rock fusion category, but Drums Of Avila certainly transcends that categorization. For instance, "In Dreams" (written by Kristy Cardinali) teams the Bratislava Radio Symphony with Thielemans and vocalist Benani Choudhury, while Vito's tune "Clowns" has a world music feel via such exotic instruments as the surdo and caixa and the percussion of Samba Squad.
Rezza is self-deprecating about his talents. "This is not rocket science. I do think just about everything has been done before." As a veteran of the music business, he is also realistic about the disc's commercial chances. "This is not Diana Krall," he notes wryly. "You do things because you like art. This is a collector's item. It is a moment in time where this group of people came together and created this."
He is also aware that the live music scene has changed since the days 5After4 could pack the BamBoo on a Monday night. "People are less and less interested now. Touring is not easy for a lot of reasons. At 50 years old, you don't get up and say 'we're going to get in the van.' All these musicians are busy and successful here. You can ask them out for a week, tops."
Fiscal realities encouraged Rezza to start a second career, as an actor. He has enjoyed real success in this field, appearing in a large number of TV series and movies and feature films. "I just spent 16 days in Halifax, filming Stone Cold, an ABC movie of the week starring Tom Selleck [it is based on a Robert (Spenser) Parker mystery]. I got on well with Tom, but being away from my family for that long was like a nightmare."
As Rezza takes stock of his priorities, he hints at a possible close to his recording career. "The funny thing is that, right now, for the first time in my life, I am not thinking about recording again. Who knows? At this point I cannot answer that. I'll just let people enjoy Peter's work and savour this one. That is the safest thing to do."

Drums Of Avila is now out on ALMA/Universal. Vito Rezza and 5After4 play The Pilot on January 15.

Publication Date: 2004-12-05
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=4694