15/12/2025
TELL NO LIES on Nitestylez.de
MANTICA: www.nitestylez.de
Tuesday, December 02, 2025
Tell No Lies - Mantica [Aut Records 137]
Put out on the circuit via Aut Records on October 29th, 2k25 is "Mantica", the latest album outing by the Italian five piece ensemble Tell No Lies which has been operating under this name for more than a decade by now. Still led by composer x piano player Nicola Guazzaloca the quintet serves a menu of eight brand new tracks on this body of work, this time rolled out over a total of roughly 47 minutes. With influences of African Jazz cited in the accompanying info sheet we're entering a rather deep, yet somewhat nervous and highly detailed sonic realm in the intro sequence of "Chipirones" which later u-turns into hot vintage Jazz grooves with a surely tropical touch which still remains evident within the pieces more improvisational and Free Jazz-infused sequences. The subsequent "Scoulta" follows the path laid out and evolves from a seductive uptempo groove into utter high speed FreeJazz madness for the most Avantgarde savvy listeners out there whereas the intricate "Diva" is rather subdued, minimalist and in parts surprisingly romantic and restrained with an emphasis on an innate emotional warmth and comfort whilst "Impro" sonically is as close to its title as it gets even though the attentive listener might discover some tongue-in-cheek moments and even brief Jazz Noir references in there before the closing cut that is "Zavata", once again a rather complex and detailed affair, brings forth more defragmented grooves and intricate harmonic dialogue just to name a few. File under: Avantgarde.
