Amarcord Nino Rota is an album by various artists, recorded as a tribute to composer Nino Rota.
Background and recording The album is a tribute to composer Nino Rota and contains adaptations of his compositions for Federico Fellini films. It was the first of producer Hal Willner's tribute albums, and featured then-little-known musicians such as Wynton Marsalis and Bill Frisell."Amarcord Nino Rota" . Barbican. Retrieved June 29, 2017. It was recorded in 1981."London Jazz Festival: Amarcord Nino Rota" (August 19, 2013). TimeOut.
Reception Writing in The Boston Phoenix, critic Bob Blumenthal said that "Even listeners unfamiliar with Fellini's movies should sense how these melodies, with their playful mix of sentiment and irreverence, lend themselves to jazz improvisors. ... Like a good casting director, [producer Hal Willner] has chosen arrangers eclectically, yet with an unerring sense of character type; and like a skilled film editor, he has paced the album meticulously, with terse foreshadowings and framing devices that keep the solo and duet performances in dramatic balance with the larger ensemble efforts."
Track listing "Amarcord" "Interlude from Juliet of the Spirits" "8 1/2" "Theme from La Dolce Vita and Juliet of the Spirits" "Juliet of the Spirits" "La Dolce Vita Suite (Introduction/Notturno/Interlude/Valzer [Parlami Di Me])" "Satyricon" "Roma" "Medley: The White Sheik/I Vitelloni/Il Bidone/The Nights of Cabiria" "La Strada"
Personnel Tracks 1 and 10 Jaki Byard – piano, arranger Tracks 2 and 4 Dave Samuels – vibes, arranger Track 3 Carla Bley – organ, glockenspiel, conductor, arranger Michael Mantler – trumpet Gary Valente – trombone Earl McIntyre – tuba Gary Windo – tenor sax Courtenay Wynter – woodwinds Joe Daley – euphonium Arturo O'Farrill – piano Steve Swallow – bass D. Sharpe – drums Track 5 Bill Frisell – guitar, arranger Track 6: part a & c Sharon Freeman – French horn, piano, arranger Francis Haynes – steel drums Track 6: part b Muhal Richard Abrams – conductor, arranger Claudio Roditi – trumpet Emmet McDonald – trombone Sharon Freeman – French horn Henry Threadgill – flute Bobby Eldridge – baritone sax, clarinet Jay Hoggard – vibes Amina Claudine Myers – piano Fred Hopkins – bass Warren Smith – drums Track 6: part d Michael Sahl – keyboards, co-arranger Chris Stein – guitar, co-arranger Deborah Harry – vocals Charles Rocket – accordion, bells Lenny Ferrari – drums Track 7 David Amram – penny whistle, double ocarina, shanai, guitar, claves, arranger Jerry Dodgion – flute Sharon Freeman – French horn Victor Venegas – bass Ray Mantilla – percussion Steve Berrios – percussion Track 8 Steve Lacy – soprano sax, gong, arranger Track 9 William Fischer – conductor, arranger Wynton Marsalis – trumpet George Adams – tenor sax Branford Marsalis – woodwinds Kenny Barron – piano Ron Carter – bass Wilbert Fletcher – drums
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