Montevago, a palace on the hills of Palermo, sumptuous and obsolete, full of poetry and nostalgia...
It could be the décor of the new opus of these two figures of the European Jazz scene, truly modern and totally free. A place where tradition and innovation meet and create an audacious masterpiece, a delight to the ears but also unsettling.
The violinist Théo Ceccaldi and the pianist Roberto Negro started their repertoire a few years ago with Danse de Salon brilliantly revisiting and rearranging, in small perfectly original pieces, gavottes, minuets, jigs, quadrilles and other mazurkas.
Even though one can find, in Montevago, reminiscences of tarantella, habanera and even rodeo music, the inspiration is wider, even referring to the tragic reality of migrants in the title Zodiac Poisson. Once again, Italy is not too far...but what also makes this repertoire powerful is the amazing work on sound. Both musicians play around with the strings of their instruments with love and mastery, whether it is by striking, pinching, rubbing, caressing or forcing them showing the desire to extract the most singular sounds out of them as if there was still a whole world to discover out there. The exploration of the tones combined with the richness of the compositions invite the listener to the most noble thing music has to offer: the ability to be moved and imagine a better world.

The bond between Théo Ceccaldi and the pianist Roberto Negro is beyond comprehension. Well- deserved success. Standing ovation. With this level of work, it’s the least we can do. Bruno Pfeiffer – LIBERATION

A duo worthy of the best deserts. Two instruments rarely merge so perfectly. Frédéric Goaty - JAZZ MAGAZINE

Théo Ceccaldi plays the violin with a mastery that changes what we think the instrument could do. Robert Negro is a pianist inhabited by poetry. Their duo recommends itself. Michel Contat - TÉLÉRAMA