PS5 Turns Mythology Into Movement on Baccanalia
The Pietro Santangelo Quintet channels ritual, trance, and contemporary jazz into a five-track EP shaped by physical rhythm and ancient imagery.
With Baccanalia, PS5, the Pietro Santangelo Quintet, approaches mythology as a living source of movement rather than a distant historical reference. The five-track EP draws from the world of Greco-Roman ritual, imagining war dances, satyr processions, and rites of transformation through syncopated grooves, layered percussion, and restless saxophone arrangements.
The record follows a natural path from the group’s earlier work, which explored Mediterranean sound and biodiversity. Here, the focus turns toward a more archetypal landscape. Pietro Santangelo’s compositions still feel rooted in the body, but the rhythmic language carries a greater sense of ceremony. Odd time signatures are handled with an unusual fluidity, often blurring the line between stable patterns and shifting momentum. The effect is immersive without becoming overly abstract.
Santangelo moves between tenor and soprano saxophones, flute, fujara, vocals, and additional percussion, treating each instrument as part of a wider ritual space. The flute is especially important, adding an airy, almost symbolic presence to the heavier rhythmic foundations. Paolo Batà Bianconcini’s congas, Vincenzo Lamagna’s bass, and Salvatore Rainone’s drums keep the music grounded, while Giuseppe Giroffi and guest musician Luigi Di Nunzio expand the record’s brass textures with expressive, tightly woven contributions.
Tracks such as “Pirrica,” “Komos,” and “Lupercalia” suggest different forms of collective motion, from martial intensity to celebration and release. The recording process, split between Auditorium Novecento in Naples and Godfather Studio, preserves the organic character of the performances.
Baccanalia is a vivid and carefully shaped EP, balancing contemporary jazz language with a deeper interest in trance, instinct, and communal rhythm.