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The Bari Session

Paul Wertico | John Helliwell Project featuring Raimondo Meli Lupi & Gianmarco Scaglia

The Bari Session

Price: € 19.95
Format: CD
Label: Challenge Records
UPC: 0608917352924
Catnr: CR 73529
Release date: 05 November 2021
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Label
Challenge Records
UPC
0608917352924
Catalogue number
CR 73529
Release date
05 November 2021

"... They listen to each other very well, adopt and vary each other's ideas, give each other enough space and develop lyrical moments, grooves and positive moods out of interplay and dynamics."

Na Dann, 02-12-2021
Album
Artist(s)
Composer(s)
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EN
DE

About the album

I can’t begin to adequately express how excited I am to have our first official studio recording, THE BARI SESSION, finally released!
Ever since the very first time John, Raimondo, Gianmarco and I played together back in 2008, I’ve loved this band and knew we had that “special chemistry” that truly makes a band: A BAND.

However, since then, our only release thus far has been a double-CD entitled LIVE UNDER ITALIAN SKIES that features performances from two live concerts in 2008 & 2012. Due to our extremely busy individual schedules, and the fact that the four of us live in three different countries on two different continents, we’ve never quite found the ideal time and opportunity to actually go into a recording studio to officially document our band’s sound, its chemistry, and some of the songs that have become part of our standard repertoire in live concerts.

Well, THE BARI SESSION has now arrived and it beautifully showcases all of those things (as well as some new compositions), because in August of 2019 we were able to find a small window of time to go in and record in a fantastic studio in Bari with a first-rate engineer during one of our Italian tours. I believe the result speaks for itself. We also had a really wonderful experience making this recording and the music just seemed to “play itself,” which is always a great sign that the music is “ready” and “cooked to perfection,” just like the best Italian dishes! Godetevi un buon ascolto!
Paul Wertico

In 2019, I was working on my album “Ever Open Door” with Andy Scott, the arranger and composer. We decided to co-write a tune. Originally, the album’s title was to have been “When I Was Young” which is the first line of the lyrics from the Supertramp song “The Logical Song”.
The next line in that song is “…It Seemed That Life Was So Wonderful” — so as it represents my general outlook on life, it felt like an appropriate title for a new tune. Very shortly afterwards, I toured Italy with Paul, Raimondo and Gianmarco where we included this tune in our performances.
I am honoured that it was included in our MAST Studio session in Bari during this tour.
John Helliwell

A fundamental aspect of this recording session in Bari was to put at the service of every musician each one's musical personality.
I can assert that we strongly listened to each other, taking ideas from each other, forming a sound path of interplay and dynamics that fluctuate from Raimondo’s mainstream rock excursions (as I define them), to Paul's dynamic grooves and John's melodies.
“Good the first take!” has been an essential element of the whole project.
Gianmarco Scaglia

A “dream that comes true” is what comes to mind when I think about The Bari Session.
Having the chance to record with some of the most influential musicians of my life has not only been a great honour, but one of those “once in a lifetime” situations that you almost do not believe could happen to you! Since the quartet started collaborating in 2008, it has been a magical chemistry, even if we do not get the chance to play often. It is chemistry on both musicianship and human levels. I think the listener can realize that magic in the grooves of this recording, which came to life in a day-off during our short tour in Italy in the summer of 2019. All tracks are the first take and we recorded all in one day at MAST Music Academy Recording Studio in Bari with excellent sound engineer Massimo Stano. For the recording session, we used an analog mixing console, the SSL 4048 G SERIES, which is an iconic studio classic. The session was then mixed at Fonoprint Studios in Bologna on another iconic analog board: the SSL 4064 G SERIES. Even more iconic is the mixing engineer Maurizio Biancani: his talent, knowledge and musical taste have been essential to the project. I am very proud of this work and I consider it to be one of the highlights of my career, both as a musician and a producer.
Raimondo Meli Lupi
Eine einzigartige Zusammenarbeit zwischen John Helliwell, Paul Wertico, Gianmarco Scaglia und Raimondo Meli Lupi. Von Mitglied und Produzent Raimondo Meli Lupi als einer der Höhepunkte seiner Karriere bezeichnet.

Ich kann gar nicht in Worte fassen, wie aufgeregt ich bin, dass unsere erste offizielle Studioaufnahme, THE BARI SESSION, endlich veröffentlicht wird!
Seit dem ersten Mal, als John, Raimondo, Gianmarco und ich 2008 zusammen gespielt haben, habe ich diese Band geliebt und wusste, dass wir diese "besondere Chemie" haben, die eine Band ausmacht: EINE BAND.

Seitdem war unsere einzige Veröffentlichung eine Doppel-CD mit dem Titel LIVE UNDER ITALIAN SKIES, die zwei Live-Konzerte aus den Jahren 2008 und 2012 enthält. Aufgrund unserer extrem vollen Terminkalender und der Tatsache, dass wir vier in drei verschiedenen Ländern auf zwei verschiedenen Kontinenten leben, haben wir nie die ideale Zeit und Gelegenheit gefunden, in ein Aufnahmestudio zu gehen, um den Sound unserer Band, ihre Chemie und einige der Songs, die bei Live-Konzerten zu unserem Standardrepertoire gehören, offiziell zu dokumentieren.

Nun, THE BARI SESSION ist nun da und zeigt all diese Dinge (sowie einige neue Kompositionen) auf wunderbare Weise, denn im August 2019 konnten wir ein kleines Zeitfenster finden, um in einem fantastischen Studio in Bari mit einem erstklassigen Tontechniker während einer unserer Italien-Touren aufzunehmen. Ich glaube, das Ergebnis spricht für sich selbst. Wir hatten auch eine wirklich wunderbare Erfahrung bei dieser Aufnahme, und die Musik schien sich einfach "selbst zu spielen", was immer ein gutes Zeichen dafür ist, dass die Musik "fertig" und "perfekt zubereitet" ist, genau wie die besten italienischen Gerichte! Godetevi un buon ascolto!
Paul Wertico

Im Jahr 2019 arbeitete ich mit Andy Scott, dem Arrangeur und Komponisten, an meinem Album "Ever Open Door". Wir beschlossen, gemeinsam eine Melodie zu schreiben. Ursprünglich sollte der Titel des Albums "When I Was Young" lauten, was die erste Zeile des Textes aus dem Supertramp-Song "The Logical Song" ist.
Die nächste Zeile in diesem Song lautet "...It Seemed That Life Was So Wonderful" - und da dies meine allgemeine Lebenseinstellung repräsentiert, schien es mir ein passender Titel für ein neues Stück zu sein. Kurz darauf ging ich mit Paul, Raimondo und Gianmarco auf Tournee durch Italien, wo wir dieses Lied in unsere Auftritte aufnahmen.
Ich fühle mich geehrt, dass es während dieser Tournee in unsere MAST Studio Session in Bari aufgenommen wurde.
John Helliwell

Ein grundlegender Aspekt dieser Aufnahmesession in Bari war es, die musikalische Persönlichkeit jedes einzelnen Musikers in den Fokus zu stellen.
Ich kann behaupten, dass wir uns gegenseitig sehr gut zugehört haben, Ideen voneinander übernommen haben und einen Klangpfad aus Zusammenspiel und Dynamik gebildet haben, der von Raimondos Mainstream-Rock-Ausflügen (wie ich sie definiere) über Pauls dynamische Grooves bis hin zu Johns Melodien reicht.
"Good the first take!" war ein wesentliches Element des gesamten Projekts.
Gianmarco Scaglia

Wenn ich an die Bari Session denke, kommt mir ein Traum in den Sinn, der wahr wird".
Die Chance, mit einigen der einflussreichsten Musiker meines Lebens Aufnahmen zu machen, war nicht nur eine große Ehre, sondern auch eine dieser "einmaligen" Situationen, von denen man kaum glaubt, dass sie einem passieren könnten! Seitdem das Quartett 2008 begonnen hat, zusammenzuarbeiten, herrscht eine magische Chemie, auch wenn wir nicht oft die Gelegenheit haben zu spielen. Es ist eine Chemie sowohl auf musikalischer als auch auf menschlicher Ebene. Ich denke, der Hörer kann diese Magie in den Grooves dieser Aufnahme erkennen, die an einem freien Tag während unserer kurzen Tournee in Italien im Sommer 2019 entstanden ist. Alle Tracks sind der erste Take und wir haben alles an einem Tag im MAST Music Academy Recording Studio in Bari mit dem exzellenten Toningenieur Massimo Stano aufgenommen. Für die Aufnahmesession verwendeten wir ein analoges Mischpult, die SSL 4048 G+ SERIES, die ein ikonischer Studioklassiker ist. Die Session wurde dann in den Fonoprint Studios in Bologna auf einem anderen kultigen Analogpult abgemischt: der SSL 4064 G SERIES. Noch kultiger ist der Mixing Engineer Maurizio Biancani: Sein Talent, sein Wissen und sein musikalischer Geschmack waren für das Projekt von entscheidender Bedeutung. Ich bin sehr stolz auf diese Arbeit und betrachte sie als einen der Höhepunkte meiner Karriere, sowohl als Musiker als auch als Produzent.
Raimondo Meli Lupi

Artist(s)

Paul Wertico

Hailed in the press as 'One of the most versatile and musical drummers in music today', Paul Wertico was born January 5, 1953 in Chicago. He gained worldwide recognition as a member of the Pat Metheny Group from 1983 to 2001. During his tenure with Metheny, Wertico played on ten recordings and four videos, appeared on numerous television shows, and frequently toured around the world. He also won seven Grammy Awards (for 'Best Jazz Fusion Performance,' 'Best Contemporary Jazz Performance,' and 'Best Rock Instrumental Performance'), magazine polls, and received several gold records. In recent years, Wertico has continued to tour and perform around the world, as well as around the Chicago metropolitan area, where he is based. This led to the...
more

Hailed in the press as "One of the most versatile and musical drummers in music today", Paul Wertico was born January 5, 1953 in Chicago. He gained worldwide recognition as a member of the Pat Metheny Group from 1983 to 2001. During his tenure with Metheny, Wertico played on ten recordings and four videos, appeared on numerous television shows, and frequently toured around the world. He also won seven Grammy Awards (for "Best Jazz Fusion Performance," "Best Contemporary Jazz Performance," and "Best Rock Instrumental Performance"), magazine polls, and received several gold records.

In recent years, Wertico has continued to tour and perform around the world, as well as around the Chicago metropolitan area, where he is based. This led to the creation of his own band (the Paul Wertico Trio) and collaborations with jazz notables such as Larry Coryell, Kurt Elling, and Jeff Berlin. These collaborations enabled Wertico to be featured on group recordings in a variety of musical genres, and also gave him an opportunity to produce records. In 2009, Wertico's trio joined forces with Marbin, which consisted of Israeli musicians Danny Markovitch (saxophone) and Dani Rabin (guitar). The group performed as Paul Wertico's Mid-East/Mid-West Alliance, and recorded an album for the Chicago Sessions label that received accolades from publications such as the Chicago Tribune, DRUM!, and Modern Drummer. Wertico's current group is Wertico Cain & Gray, featuring multi-instrumentalists David Cain and Larry Gray. A 2013 recording by Wertico Cain & Gray, entitled Sound Portraits, won "Best Live Performance Album" in the 13th Annual Independent Music Awards (2014).

When not touring, Wertico divides his career doing session work, producing, composing, and leading his own groups, as well as teaching. Among the musicians with whom he has played are Eddie Harris, Lee Konitz, Dave Liebman, Sam Rivers, Bob Mintzer, Terry Gibbs, Buddy DeFranco, Roscoe Mitchell, Evan Parker, Jay McShann, Herbie Mann, Randy Brecker, Jerry Goodman, Ramsey Lewis, David Bowie, Charlie Haden, George Coleman, Diane Schuur, Nelson Riddle, Sonny Fortune, Ken Nordine, Tierney Sutton, and many others. Wertico is a member of the Larry Coryell Power Trio. From 2000 to 2007, he was a member of the platinum-record-winning Polish progressive rock band, SBB. He is also the inventor of TUBZ, made by Pro-Mark (who also makes the “Paul Wertico Signature Drum Stick”), as well as a new independently manufactured signature product called “Paul Wertico’s Acousticx”.


less

John Helliwell

John Anthony Helliwell (born 15 February 1945) is an English musician and the saxophonist and occasional keyboardist, woodwind player, and background vocalist for the rock band Supertramp. He also served as an MC during the band's concerts, talking and making jokes to the audience between songs. Helliwell played with The Alan Bown Set, replacing Dave Green when he joined in January 1966, before joining Supertramp in 1973 along with bassist Dougie Thomson, who convinced Helliwell to make the move. In 2004, Helliwell formed the band Crème Anglaise with Mark Hart, who had joined Supertramp in 1985. This group recorded their eponymous debut album in 2005. In 1987 Helliwell played on Pink Floyd's album A Momentary Lapse of Reason; his name was misspelled...
more

John Anthony Helliwell (born 15 February 1945) is an English musician and the saxophonist and occasional keyboardist, woodwind player, and background vocalist for the rock band Supertramp. He also served as an MC during the band's concerts, talking and making jokes to the audience between songs.
Helliwell played with The Alan Bown Set, replacing Dave Green when he joined in January 1966, before joining Supertramp in 1973 along with bassist Dougie Thomson, who convinced Helliwell to make the move. In 2004, Helliwell formed the band Crème Anglaise with Mark Hart, who had joined Supertramp in 1985. This group recorded their eponymous debut album in 2005.
In 1987 Helliwell played on Pink Floyd's album A Momentary Lapse of Reason; his name was misspelled as "Halliwell". This was after Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour had played on Supertramp's album Brother Where You Bound. Helliwell also played on French singer Jean-Jacques Goldman's 1985 album Positif, and clarinet on Sara Hickman's 1990 album Shortstop.
During a professional lull in the 1990s, Helliwell began studying for a music degree at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, but he discontinued his studies to join Supertramp on tour when Some Things Never Change was released. In 2004 he contributed saxophone work on the Simon Apple album River to the Sea.
Helliwell contributed clarinet to The Pineapple Thief's song "Fend For Yourself" from their Your Wilderness album which was released in 2016.
Helliwell fronts the Super Big Tramp Band, which has a jazz big band line-up of trumpets, trombones, saxophones and rhythm section. It plays versions of Supertramp tunes, arranged by members of the band, with no vocals, but with Helliwell as the chief soloist. The band first played in Manchester in June 2013. In 2019 the band played at the Manchester Jazz Festival in May and was scheduled to play in Hull and Hamburg later in the year.
In October 2020, Helliwell released Ever Open Door, a CD album of ballads with Helliwell on saxophone and clarinet, with a string quartet and Hammond organ.


less

Gianmarco Scaglia

Gianmarco Scaglia was born in Caorso (PC) in June 22th 1957. He is a double bass player and composer. He started to play electric bass at the age of 15, after had seen Ron Gallagher great concert at Astra Cinema, and after thought that the bass had a minor number of chords than the guitar and it means that he didn’t have to work hard. The history teached him that he was wrong. Thereafter he started to play double bass at Parma Lorenzo Cuneo Jazz School, one of the first jazzy school in Italy. He continued to study attending much workshop with Bruno Tommaso and Furio Di Castri. In 1986 he attended Boston Berklee College of Music studying with John Repucci. He attended some...
more

Gianmarco Scaglia was born in Caorso (PC) in June 22th 1957. He is a double bass player and composer.

He started to play electric bass at the age of 15, after had seen Ron Gallagher great concert at Astra Cinema, and after thought that the bass had a minor number of chords than the guitar and it means that he didn’t have to work hard. The history teached him that he was wrong.

Thereafter he started to play double bass at Parma Lorenzo Cuneo Jazz School, one of the first jazzy school in Italy. He continued to study attending much workshop with Bruno Tommaso and Furio Di Castri.

In 1986 he attended Boston Berklee College of Music studying with John Repucci.

He attended some instrumental workshop with some of the most important double bass players of the world (D. Holland, M. Vitous).

He founded Open Frontiers Trio with Raimondo Meli Lupi. In 1994 he founded a trio with his name, with Claudio Fasoli (saxophonist) and Ettore Fioravanti (drummer) working on own composition and realizing his first CD Moods with MM Records label (MM43024).

Since 1984 he had worked with some important Italian and American musicians: Joe Diorio, Skip Hadden, Paul Wertico, John Helliwell, Danilo Rea, Paolo Fresu, Franco Cerri, Max De Aloe, Marco Tamburini, Massimo Manzi, Claudio Fasoli, Ettore Fioravanti, Giulio Stracciati, Daniele Malvisi, Mauro Beggio, Ada Montellanico, Stefania Rava, Piero Odorici, Nico Gori, Andrea Marcelli, Fabrizio Bosso and someone else. He played also with: Orchestra Nazionale di Sofia, Jazz Art Orchestra, Arturo Toscanini Orchestra Ritmica.

He is active with 20 recording, of which 5 at his name. In 2003 his cds “Blue in Green” and “Jazz City” have been reviewed by an important magazine “Double Bassist”. In January 2011 Gianmarco recorded Body and Soul playing with Joe Diorio and Ettore Fioravanti.

Actually he is playing with Daniele Malvisi for Carla Bley project and Fabrizio Mocata on Puccini Moods project.

Gianmarco says: “I am not a freelance, I love carry on project which feel like mine.


less

Composer(s)

Paul Wertico (drums)

Hailed in the press as 'One of the most versatile and musical drummers in music today', Paul Wertico was born January 5, 1953 in Chicago. He gained worldwide recognition as a member of the Pat Metheny Group from 1983 to 2001. During his tenure with Metheny, Wertico played on ten recordings and four videos, appeared on numerous television shows, and frequently toured around the world. He also won seven Grammy Awards (for 'Best Jazz Fusion Performance,' 'Best Contemporary Jazz Performance,' and 'Best Rock Instrumental Performance'), magazine polls, and received several gold records. In recent years, Wertico has continued to tour and perform around the world, as well as around the Chicago metropolitan area, where he is based. This led to the...
more

Hailed in the press as "One of the most versatile and musical drummers in music today", Paul Wertico was born January 5, 1953 in Chicago. He gained worldwide recognition as a member of the Pat Metheny Group from 1983 to 2001. During his tenure with Metheny, Wertico played on ten recordings and four videos, appeared on numerous television shows, and frequently toured around the world. He also won seven Grammy Awards (for "Best Jazz Fusion Performance," "Best Contemporary Jazz Performance," and "Best Rock Instrumental Performance"), magazine polls, and received several gold records.

In recent years, Wertico has continued to tour and perform around the world, as well as around the Chicago metropolitan area, where he is based. This led to the creation of his own band (the Paul Wertico Trio) and collaborations with jazz notables such as Larry Coryell, Kurt Elling, and Jeff Berlin. These collaborations enabled Wertico to be featured on group recordings in a variety of musical genres, and also gave him an opportunity to produce records. In 2009, Wertico's trio joined forces with Marbin, which consisted of Israeli musicians Danny Markovitch (saxophone) and Dani Rabin (guitar). The group performed as Paul Wertico's Mid-East/Mid-West Alliance, and recorded an album for the Chicago Sessions label that received accolades from publications such as the Chicago Tribune, DRUM!, and Modern Drummer. Wertico's current group is Wertico Cain & Gray, featuring multi-instrumentalists David Cain and Larry Gray. A 2013 recording by Wertico Cain & Gray, entitled Sound Portraits, won "Best Live Performance Album" in the 13th Annual Independent Music Awards (2014).

When not touring, Wertico divides his career doing session work, producing, composing, and leading his own groups, as well as teaching. Among the musicians with whom he has played are Eddie Harris, Lee Konitz, Dave Liebman, Sam Rivers, Bob Mintzer, Terry Gibbs, Buddy DeFranco, Roscoe Mitchell, Evan Parker, Jay McShann, Herbie Mann, Randy Brecker, Jerry Goodman, Ramsey Lewis, David Bowie, Charlie Haden, George Coleman, Diane Schuur, Nelson Riddle, Sonny Fortune, Ken Nordine, Tierney Sutton, and many others. Wertico is a member of the Larry Coryell Power Trio. From 2000 to 2007, he was a member of the platinum-record-winning Polish progressive rock band, SBB. He is also the inventor of TUBZ, made by Pro-Mark (who also makes the “Paul Wertico Signature Drum Stick”), as well as a new independently manufactured signature product called “Paul Wertico’s Acousticx”.


less

Gianmarco Scaglia (double bass)

Gianmarco Scaglia was born in Caorso (PC) in June 22th 1957. He is a double bass player and composer. He started to play electric bass at the age of 15, after had seen Ron Gallagher great concert at Astra Cinema, and after thought that the bass had a minor number of chords than the guitar and it means that he didn’t have to work hard. The history teached him that he was wrong. Thereafter he started to play double bass at Parma Lorenzo Cuneo Jazz School, one of the first jazzy school in Italy. He continued to study attending much workshop with Bruno Tommaso and Furio Di Castri. In 1986 he attended Boston Berklee College of Music studying with John Repucci. He attended some...
more

Gianmarco Scaglia was born in Caorso (PC) in June 22th 1957. He is a double bass player and composer.

He started to play electric bass at the age of 15, after had seen Ron Gallagher great concert at Astra Cinema, and after thought that the bass had a minor number of chords than the guitar and it means that he didn’t have to work hard. The history teached him that he was wrong.

Thereafter he started to play double bass at Parma Lorenzo Cuneo Jazz School, one of the first jazzy school in Italy. He continued to study attending much workshop with Bruno Tommaso and Furio Di Castri.

In 1986 he attended Boston Berklee College of Music studying with John Repucci.

He attended some instrumental workshop with some of the most important double bass players of the world (D. Holland, M. Vitous).

He founded Open Frontiers Trio with Raimondo Meli Lupi. In 1994 he founded a trio with his name, with Claudio Fasoli (saxophonist) and Ettore Fioravanti (drummer) working on own composition and realizing his first CD Moods with MM Records label (MM43024).

Since 1984 he had worked with some important Italian and American musicians: Joe Diorio, Skip Hadden, Paul Wertico, John Helliwell, Danilo Rea, Paolo Fresu, Franco Cerri, Max De Aloe, Marco Tamburini, Massimo Manzi, Claudio Fasoli, Ettore Fioravanti, Giulio Stracciati, Daniele Malvisi, Mauro Beggio, Ada Montellanico, Stefania Rava, Piero Odorici, Nico Gori, Andrea Marcelli, Fabrizio Bosso and someone else. He played also with: Orchestra Nazionale di Sofia, Jazz Art Orchestra, Arturo Toscanini Orchestra Ritmica.

He is active with 20 recording, of which 5 at his name. In 2003 his cds “Blue in Green” and “Jazz City” have been reviewed by an important magazine “Double Bassist”. In January 2011 Gianmarco recorded Body and Soul playing with Joe Diorio and Ettore Fioravanti.

Actually he is playing with Daniele Malvisi for Carla Bley project and Fabrizio Mocata on Puccini Moods project.

Gianmarco says: “I am not a freelance, I love carry on project which feel like mine.


less

John Helliwell (tenor saxophone)

John Anthony Helliwell (born 15 February 1945) is an English musician and the saxophonist and occasional keyboardist, woodwind player, and background vocalist for the rock band Supertramp. He also served as an MC during the band's concerts, talking and making jokes to the audience between songs. Helliwell played with The Alan Bown Set, replacing Dave Green when he joined in January 1966, before joining Supertramp in 1973 along with bassist Dougie Thomson, who convinced Helliwell to make the move. In 2004, Helliwell formed the band Crème Anglaise with Mark Hart, who had joined Supertramp in 1985. This group recorded their eponymous debut album in 2005. In 1987 Helliwell played on Pink Floyd's album A Momentary Lapse of Reason; his name was misspelled...
more

John Anthony Helliwell (born 15 February 1945) is an English musician and the saxophonist and occasional keyboardist, woodwind player, and background vocalist for the rock band Supertramp. He also served as an MC during the band's concerts, talking and making jokes to the audience between songs.
Helliwell played with The Alan Bown Set, replacing Dave Green when he joined in January 1966, before joining Supertramp in 1973 along with bassist Dougie Thomson, who convinced Helliwell to make the move. In 2004, Helliwell formed the band Crème Anglaise with Mark Hart, who had joined Supertramp in 1985. This group recorded their eponymous debut album in 2005.
In 1987 Helliwell played on Pink Floyd's album A Momentary Lapse of Reason; his name was misspelled as "Halliwell". This was after Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour had played on Supertramp's album Brother Where You Bound. Helliwell also played on French singer Jean-Jacques Goldman's 1985 album Positif, and clarinet on Sara Hickman's 1990 album Shortstop.
During a professional lull in the 1990s, Helliwell began studying for a music degree at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, but he discontinued his studies to join Supertramp on tour when Some Things Never Change was released. In 2004 he contributed saxophone work on the Simon Apple album River to the Sea.
Helliwell contributed clarinet to The Pineapple Thief's song "Fend For Yourself" from their Your Wilderness album which was released in 2016.
Helliwell fronts the Super Big Tramp Band, which has a jazz big band line-up of trumpets, trombones, saxophones and rhythm section. It plays versions of Supertramp tunes, arranged by members of the band, with no vocals, but with Helliwell as the chief soloist. The band first played in Manchester in June 2013. In 2019 the band played at the Manchester Jazz Festival in May and was scheduled to play in Hull and Hamburg later in the year.
In October 2020, Helliwell released Ever Open Door, a CD album of ballads with Helliwell on saxophone and clarinet, with a string quartet and Hammond organ.


less

Press

... They listen to each other very well, adopt and vary each other's ideas, give each other enough space and develop lyrical moments, grooves and positive moods out of interplay and dynamics.
Na Dann, 02-12-2021

... Paul Wertico: The Bari Session (Challenge Records) is the first official studio recording of the Paul Wertico ǀ John Helliwell Project...
virginjazzface, 28-11-2021

Among the seven pieces of the album there is not a single one that is incomplete, underdeveloped or uninteresting. All improvised parts captivate with freshness and interesting ideas. Also the great sound of this album should be especially appreciated. Congratulations!
Jazzfun, 25-11-2021

... Four musicians who take their time and calm for their pieces and explore the topics very carefully. And then stage the whole thing with great love for the sound: This "Bari Session" is one of the best jazz albums of this year in terms of sound. One can play jazz more excited, also trendier or more radical. But hardly better - and above all better documented...
NDR CD of the week, 22-11-2021

The album, available from Challenge Records, embraces Supertramp’s pop leanings, Wertico’s mainstream to contemporary jazz sensibilities and Meli Lupi’s rock inclinations
Jazz Rag, 24-2-2022

An album that we never tire of listening to...strong melodies, exciting drums, energetic riffs and beautiful dialogue between guitar and sax. Perfect sound and enchantment for 45 minutes. No, more: we put the plate back at the beginning!
Le Soir, 09-2-2022

The players have collaborated since 2008, so there is real chemistry in an album full of diversity and superb playing. Hugely enjoyable.
Jazz Journal, 27-1-2022

19 out of 20 points: High-flyer ... Brilliant here, as in general, the drum work of Wertico, and in general the dense interplay of all actors. Finally, it remains for me to state that every song on the album Bari Sessions is my favorite.
Musikansich, 04-1-2022

The Bari Sessons has become an energetic album. High class here.
Music Emotion, 03-1-2022

There is a lot of pleasure in this music, we listen to it without noticing the time passing ... We even find ourselves humming the melodies that quickly stick to the ear.
Jazzmania, 10-12-2021

Japanese review
Japan Jazz, 02-12-2021

... Together with saxophonist and ex-Supertramp John Helliwell, guitarist Raimondo Meli Lupi and bassist Gianmarco Scaglia, the longtime drummer with Pat Metheny (Paul Wertico) has recorded a modern, timeless jazz album between fine jazz rock, atmospheric moments and blues.
nrwjazznet, 28-11-2021

an atmospheric composition that evokes a musical dream world
Rootstime, 25-11-2021

There is a lot of pleasure in this music that we listen to without caring about time going by
Jazzhalo, 10-11-2021

... The musical palette of the international foursome ranges from modern-jazz delicacies like "Cowboys & Africans", which was strongly inspired by African rhythms, to the elegantly casual "Train Bossa" and a floating, light-footed affair like the opener "Circular Motion"...
Jazzthing, 27-10-2021

Play album Play album

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Ever Open Door
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