"Two pianos – one vision. Tony Pancella and Larry Willis have released a duo album titled “Alter Ego” and with their flow and beautiful lines, it is hard sometimes to see when they do alter, and that’s what makes this album superb (...)” - Brenton Plourde (JAZZREVIEWS.COM)

 

"...the music can be delicate and lovely, and it can be intensely swinging. (...)there are plenty of other moments that will bring joy to jazz piano fans." -Will Smith (JAZZ TIMES) "

 

...This one is A-1 material all the way! (...)Willis and Pancella have an intimate feeling for each other's approach to the keyboard..." -John Henry (AUDIOPHILE AUDITION)

 

"...This set seems to be a hymn to the rhapsodic as two virtuosos play a handful of tunes that lend themselves to lush, melodic interplay (...) It flows forward in increasing beauty..." - Donald Elfman (ALLABOUTJAZZ.COM)

​

“.... he’s naturally talented, in full and constant growing as a pianist and arranger; his well-balanced trio offers an exciting music, very elaborate but at the same time full of emotions and spontaneity...”
Mario Luzzi (MUSICA JAZZ Magazine)

“Elegant phrasing, harmonic research, precious skills as trio arranger, enlightened by a flowing swing that Lester Young would definitely have appreciated. I’m talking about Tony Pancella.”
Franco D’Andrea (international top jazz pianist - Liner notes CD “BasicJazzTrio)

"…a cursory hearing of this record with no information volunteered would most likely have led many people to believe that it was an astablished and bright young trio from NYC… (…) …these players sound the same as their US counterparts. If you enjoy piano trio jazz played with plenty of originality, go for this set. "
Derek Ansell (JAZZ JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL – London, UK)

​

“If there was such a thing as a “pure jazz musician” in this multicultural glogal village of ours, then italian pianist Tony Pancella would have a strong claim to the title…”
Barry Davis (THE JERUSALEM POST – Israel)

"If you were enamored by the Bill Evans Trio sound, especially in the beginning years, you will love this group. Beautiful tunes, lyrical moods and tasteful playing by all three wonderful musicians in complete empathy." Dave Liebman (international top jazz musician)

" In listening to this CD, I have been amazed at how much raw emotion is conveyed and absorbed after each new listening. Tony Pancella has matured into one of the most promising pianist of his generation. With the support of two wonderful and masterful collegues, in Ulf Radelius (who first introduced me to Tony several years ago), and Pietro Iodice (an extremely gifted and sensitive drummer who does a masterful job of coloring all of the musical tapestries which are always flowing on this recording), Tony has assembled and masterfully crafted an effervescent collage of musical sounds which cover at least 4 decades of musical and stylistic development. It is a beautiful and very emotionally stimulating experience to listen to Tony Pancella at this special time in his life. I can say, unequivocally, that each successive listening of this CD gets better, which is really what this art form is all about!!"
Keith Copeland (international top jazz musician)

“Tony Pancella has a lot of credit among the jazz piano fans in Japan. This new CD fully satisfies their expectations. The original compositions are great. I felt completely in love with those melodies which go straight into the heart of the Japanese’s feelings. (…) also Tino Tracanna on tenor saxophone sounds beautiful: bitter, in a positive meaning, like a good cup of tea or coffe…”
(Yamamoto Takashi – Tokio, Japan)

“ Listening to Different Stories, you’ll find a full and rich music, but intimate and sophisticated in its many impressionistic moments. Pancella’s style comes from Bill Evans and it goes through soft colors’ landscapes, searching with great mastery a neat, sharp sound, with a soft, clear touch. Its overall sound is so fascinating because it goes straight to high musical quality without any artifice. We must underline at this point the marvellous tecnical quality of the recording: straight to two-tracks, with no effects or editing, which shows to anybody how this kind of tecnical care makes the listening experience so intense, especially when the artistic levelo is so high. “
(Pier Luigi Zanzi – SUONO Hi Fi Magazine)

“When listening to this new CD, you’ll easily be fascinated by Tony Pancella’s elegant phrasing. This emotion is renewed after each new listening: the spontaneity and enthusiasm of this group, together with the armonic complexity of this music, make Different Stories so interesting and convincing…”
(Laura D’Incà – AllAboutJazz Italy –)

“ Tony Pancella is a good representative of the tradition that came out of Bud Powell and then has been refined by musicians like Tommy Flanagan, Sonny Clark and John Lewis, but you can also hear the lyricism and refined sense of harmony that was the trade mark of Bill Evans.
On "Different Stories" we hear beautiful and sensitive jazz trio of the best quality…”
(Skånska Dagbladet Magazine – Sweden)

FROM “LIVE @ PIANO WORLD” CD LINER NOTES….
“Both being accomplished jazz players as well as equally accomplished pianists, we move kaleidoscopically from gut bucket stride-like playing to contemporary jazz improvising to what can only be described as sections, areas, crevices in the music that sound like pure textural playing employing all manner of contemporary harmony, melody and rhythm. The transitions between areas are natural, and the ability of the two to follow each other around in the improvised stylistic journey of each piece is wonderful. (I have a feeling one of them was using a GPS). The feeling of movement, of travel within the music is infectious and unique as well, doesn’t really move quite like anything I’ve heard before.”
Eliot Zigmund

“Tony and Eric are definitely virtuosos with the ability to express all emotions musically. Their energy-levelis always peaked as though “on fire” and by listening intuitively, they provide a flexible “give and take” that creates a natural horizontal flow.
Much like the blindfolded chess player visualizing moves on a board of 64 black and
white squares, I listen with closed eyes and envision intervals scattered across an
imaginary keyboard of 88 blacks and whites; thus, my concentration as well as auditory
senses are enhanced; with eyes shut, your ears work more proficiently.
Being a piano aficionado, I’ll avoid comparing their talents because I listen
philosophically and search for aesthetics that thrill the ears; which in this case, both of
mine are indeed.”
Walter Norris

​

​

​

​