“Fields/Figures” uses a combination of colors to produce a constant musical flux based on a melding of the individual contributions of the participants: here one can really breathe the art, savoring it as in a gallery, such is the skill shown by the trio, and run the risk of falling in love. I find myself facing a work and musicians who should have a larger audience. Perry Conticchio, a saxophonist/flautist influenced by the New York jazz of the 1970s, develops (I would say in definitive form) a singular jazz made of introversion and intensity, in a context different from the more conventional quartet he leads; Rich O’Meara, a highly-regarded vibraphonist/marimbaist and collaborator in the Silent Orchestra (an ensemble put together to play at art festivals, museums and theaters), creates a contrasting tension of mystery and reflection; while Daniel Barbiero constructs around them a perfect classical-modern counterpoint. Particularly active (he has played on Centazzo’s latest disc, as well as with the DC Improvisers Collective with special guest Greg Osby on Live at the Warehouse), Daniel works on many projects, some more conventional, others more unusual, but always maintaining that “experimental” touch and binding together jazz and classical forms, which is the prerogative of the more competent contrabassists on the American scene.

Thus “Fields/Figures” absolutely merits discovery.
--Ettore Garzia, Percorsi Musicali

The only familiar name in Colla Parte was that of double bassist and former Andrea Centazzo teammate Daniel Barbiero, who was also nice enough to send me this charming disc. Reed player and flutist Perry Conticchio and vibraphonist/percussionist Rich O’Meara are both first encounters for yours truly, and I really can’t understand how players so technically equipped and gifted with polished musicianship and sensible expertise can be practically unheard of. Lack of right connections, perhaps? Anyhow, Fields/Figures consists of eight improvisations titled after combinations of colours (“Orange On Red”, “Indigo On Grey”, you get the picture). Although the pieces are noticeably embedded in an amalgamation of chamber jazz traits, it is quite hard to stick a recognized genre’s tag to the album. Conticchio enunciates his ideas through unambiguous melodic designs, an articulated intricacy frequently appearing from nowhere to remind us about a talent endowed with abundant doses of warmth. Barbiero shifts between broken swinging pulses and arcoed awareness, congruence of expression at the basis of an unpretentious style hiding several riches. O’Meara caresses the vibes with unflappable elegance, generating halos of gleaming tones; when he decides to use the most evident aspects of percussion in “Yellow/Ochre”, the music becomes mildly bumpier, still maintaining a palpable dignity.
--Massimo Ricci, Touching Extremes