| Jazz moderne |
Some albums are built around a musical style. Others take a style as a starting point and transform it into something much more personal. Camera Funky, the new album by Italian saxophonist, composer and improviser Ivan Valentini, belongs to this second category. At first glance, the title immediately suggests a strong connection with funk, and indeed the album is powered by irresistible grooves, powerful bass lines and obsessive rhythmic patterns. But behind this energy lies a much deeper compositional vision: a sophisticated blend of funk, jazz improvisation, rock influences, contemporary music techniques and an extraordinary sense of musical architecture.
Released on June 5, 2026, Camera Funky is a remarkable statement from a musician whose career has always been defined by exploration and curiosity. Since the beginning of his musical journey, Valentini has searched for a personal language capable of connecting improvisation with composition and jazz with other artistic expressions. His work has consistently crossed boundaries, moving between improvised music, poetry, dance and contemporary forms of composition.
A composer as much as a saxophonist, Valentini has spent more than three decades creating original music. His discography reflects this constant desire to explore new territories, from his collaborations between music and poetry on albums such as La casa azzurra, Viaggi, I giorni assenti and Fumàna, to his numerous collaborations with outstanding artists including pianist Franco D’Andrea, dancer Teri Weikel, poet Alberto Bertoni, and musicians such as Michele Francesconi, Roberto Dani, Giancarlo Bianchetti, Achille Succi and Paolo Botti. He has also worked with internationally recognised artists including Henry Threadgill, Mathias Rüegg, Steve Bernstein and Antonello Salis.
This rich background explains why Camera Funky is far more than a conventional jazz-funk album. Valentini himself describes the project as moving through the same artistic territory as his previous work, but with a much stronger funk identity.
Yet this funk foundation is constantly transformed by unexpected elements: unusual time signatures, polymetric structures, complex forms, angular melodies and even the presence of a twelve-tone row and its variations. The result is music that grooves deeply while challenging the listener intellectually.
Valentini jokingly describes the concept behind the album title as “chamber funk”, and this apparent contradiction perfectly captures the spirit of the project. The music has the physical impact and rhythmic strength of funk but also the precision, interaction and compositional detail of chamber music. Rather than simply reproducing the vocabulary of classic funk, Valentini reimagines it through the language of contemporary jazz.
For this project, he has assembled an exceptional quintet. Alongside Valentini on alto and soprano saxophones, we find Matteo Pontegavelli on trumpet, Luca Perciballi on electric guitar, Alessio Bruno on electric bass and Nelide Bandello on drums.
The choice of electric bass instead of double bass is significant: as Valentini explains, it provides the heavier and more powerful foundation required by this music, creating a muscular rhythmic identity that perfectly serves the compositions.
From the opening seconds of “Fu-Gu”, the listener immediately enters the distinctive universe of Camera Funky. The track is concise but already reveals the album’s essential ingredients: energy, complexity and collective interaction.
The powerful “Overload” fully exposes the physical side of the project. Driven by Alessio Bruno’s deep electric bass and Nelide Bandello’s dynamic drumming, the track builds an almost hypnotic intensity. Yet beneath the groove are subtle changes, unexpected accents and sophisticated arrangements that reward repeated listening.
The longest composition, “Orbit Ten”, offers the musicians the widest space for development. Here the balance between composition and improvisation becomes especially fascinating. The band stretches ideas, explores textures and builds collective moments of great intensity, proving that groove-based music can also be adventurous and unpredictable.
The album closes with “Soul Pain, Soul Gain”, a title that perfectly summarises one of the emotional dimensions of Camera Funky. “Pure Soul”, as Ivan describes it, an homage to the great tradition of Black music.
Camera Funky can certainly be enjoyed simply as a highly energetic and groove-filled jazz record, but deeper listening reveals a much richer world: one where funk becomes a laboratory for composition, where improvisation meets structure, and where tradition becomes the starting point for innovation.
Ivan Valentini has created an album that is both immediately accessible and endlessly rewarding. It moves the body while stimulating the mind, proving that funk and contemporary jazz can coexist in a space where rhythm, imagination and compositional intelligence meet.
A brilliant example of modern Italian jazz at its most creative, Camera Funky is a vibrant, sophisticated and thoroughly captivating musical journey.
Frankie Pfeiffer
Editor in chief – PARIS-MOVE
PARIS-MOVE, July 14th, 2026
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Ivan Valentini Bandcamp/ Discography
Musicians:
Ivan Valentini: alto and soprano sax
Matteo Pontegavelli: trumpet
Luca Perciballi: electric guitar
Alessio Bruno: electric bass
Nelide Bandello: drums
Tracklisting:
- Fu-Gu 03:06
- Rabbit in a Bag 05:48
- Overload 05:12
- Acque dense 05:31
- Charnold 04:36
- Bishop’s move 04:44
- Orbit Ten 06:49
- Soul Pain, Soul Gain 05:27
All compositions by Ivan Valentini
Produced by Ivan Valentini
Recording, mixed and mastered at Fieno Recording Studio (Modena) by Michele Bonifati & Matteo Pontegavelli
Cover art by Emanuele Sartori