A 18' Del Sol

About

Released in 1977, “A 18 minutos del sol” was the second solo album by Spinetta and the tenth album of his musical career. Despite its limited distribution, it is one of his most sophisticated and highest quality works. It is his album closest to jazz fusion, showcasing the impeccable execution and virtuosity of Luis and his musicians. The album's atmosphere, somewhat removed from rock, is delicate and mellow. Just a few months after Invisible's breakup, Spinetta surprised the music world by composing a studio album with new stylistic directions: A 18' del sol. The album arose primarily from the influence Spinetta had after beginning to work with Diego Rapoport, through the mediation of former Alma y Vida member Gustavo Moretto. Rapoport opened the doors to the musical possibilities offered by the jazz-rock of that time, especially that expressed by John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra. To perform A 18' del sol, Spinetta assembled a band with Rapoport himself on keyboards, Machi Rufino on bass (continuing their collaboration from Invisible), and Osvaldo Adrián López on drums. His brother Gustavo and Marcelo Vidal also participated on the track "Viento del azur" (Blue Wind). Thus began what Spinetta called his "jazz project", and the band with which Spinetta played in those final years of the 1970s was formed, known as "Banda Spinetta". The album contains tracks such as "Canción para los Días de la Vida," taken from the unpublished opera from the Almendra era. This work was not well received by the public (still associated with the sound of Pescado Rabioso and Invisible) nor by critics, but with the passage of time and a re-examination of Spinetta's extensive body of work, A 18' del sol began to be considered one of his greatest albums. For Spinetta, "that was the best recording I ever made." This marked the beginning of Spinetta's increasingly frequent musical collaborations with jazz musicians, a period he has linked to the birth of his son, Dante. At the end of 1977, the "Banda Spinetta" expanded by bringing in new musicians to further Spinetta's jazz-oriented period, including Leo Sujatovich (keyboards), Gustavo Bazterrica (guitar), Rinaldo Rafanelli (bass), and for the first time, wind instruments played by Bernardo Baraj (saxophone), Gustavo Moretto (trumpet), Ricardo Sanz (bass), Eduardo Zvetelman (keyboards), and Luis Ceravolo (drums). This lineup is primarily remembered for a series of concerts in April 1978, featuring a repertoire of previously unreleased songs: "Tríptico del eterno verdor", "Covadonga", "Las alas del grillo", "Tanino", "Tu destino es el de morir de amor", "Estrella gris", "El Turquito", "Bahiana split" and "Los espacios amados". The latter was intended to lend its name to the unfinished album that would have included this repertoire. Live recordings of those concerts have been preserved. By early 1979, the band had already undergone another change, adopting the name Experiencia Demente, under which they gave a concert in Mar del Plata in January. With Gustavo Bazterrica—who had recently left La Máquina de Hacer Pájaros—Luis Cerávolo on drums, and Rinaldo Rafanelli—formerly of Polifemo—on bass, they presented songs like "Pájaros de la fe", "El sueño de Chita", "Ondas y caderas", and "Viento celeste". However, this project was cut short when Spinetta traveled to the United States to record *Only Love Can Sustain*, whose interludes, titled "Jade," would give Spinetta the idea for the name of his next band. Spinetta's sound was already evolving in a different direction, and the instrumental aspect was fading in favor of a more song-oriented format, which he would develop in Spinetta Jade, still with a sound close to jazz-rock.

via Last.fm