Michele Bonifati | Emong

NGJ project in collaboration with I-Jazz

Michele Bonifati guitar and compositions, Manuel Caliumi alto and tenor sax, Federico Pierantoni trombone, Evita Polidoro drums

The name of the project derives from a particular model of kite (a passion that Michele has cultivated for years, although practicing in areas characterized by a constant lack of wind) capable of flying in feeble, almost absent wind conditions. In fact, the wind is replaced, or rather supplemented, by the force impressed by the kite flyer on the string. His gestures transmit the direction to the kite, induce the movement that will lead it to glide; a slow and calibrated flight made of undulating and circular movements, different from hovering at great heights. A choice, then, that enhances slow time, the desire to remain close and present, to descend into the depths rather than to distance oneself, but without giving up the gesture of raising one’s head to the sky.Aspects that were given further importance through the title of the album, due out in 2023: “Three knots.” The three knots, understood as a unit of wind measurement, in the amount necessary to allow an Emong to make a wide flight, hovering several meters above the ground but slow and steady in its evolutions, like the path that led the group to the creation of this first record. The group plays original music composed by Michele Bonifati with the exception of two songs, one by John Lennon and one by RATM, sung by Evita Polidoro, chosen to complete the group’s narrative and sonic horizon. The choice of lineup, along with the choice of repertoire, enhances the mobility of the group members’ roles to create a unified and cohesive sound that is simultaneously fluid and elusive, spanning the many influences that have helped form the musical identity of these musicians: jazz, electronic music, rock, American folk and more.

With the contribution and patronage of