|
|
Vlad_77 Inner circle The Netherlands 5829 Posts |
Aldo is one of my favorite magicians. He has produced an insane amount of high quality material not only through his own product line but also in many of the most important magic journals over the years. In fact, Aldo Colombini was one of the very few magicians who had a one man issue of Apocalypse. His latest offering is a Jazz Aces variant entitled "Italian Serenade" and it really packs a TON of magic into Kane's venerable plot. While there are others extant of excellent quality from Darwin Ortiz, Peter Marshall, Justin Higham, and others, this beauty stands alongside them and in some cases stands above them. This is available from Lybrary.com for a mere 10.00USD as a video download. The effect was originally published in Apocalypse but I realize that Apocalypse is getting harder to find so I thought I would review Italian Serenade for those who want a cool effect from a great magician who published it in a harder to find journal.
Effect: You cleanly show four kings and four black spot cards. The kings are dealt into a diamond formation on the table. As per the original Jazz Aces effect, the kings vanish one by one from among the packet of black spot cards. Cool enough but what sets Italian Serenade apart is that the real magic begins after the original Jazz Aces ends and really is a mini card act. The next sequence you again cleanly deal the four kings in a row and then a black spot card on each. Your combine the packets such that you are now holding two packets consisting of a black card, king, black card, king. But when you display the first packet, there are now only 4 black spot cards! Naturally, one would THINK that the kings have migrated to the second packet and that would be a cool ending, but, Aldo takes it even further: the OTHER packet is displayed and it too consists ONLY of black spot cards; the kings are GONE! What follows is a very showy revelation of each of the four kings in a different manner and each revelation is beautifully magical. -- I have always loved this effect and while I already have it in Apocalypse I wanted to purchase the video so I would have an excuse to turn you onto a great effect. (Note: there is a typo in the Lybrary.com effect description. You do NOT end up up BLANK cards. I suppose Chris's "c" key misfired ). Anyhow, let's discuss the routine in terms of structure and difficulty. The effect requires a very easy set up that you can do while looking for the kings so no culling is needed. As with most of Aldo's magic, there are no difficult sleights and yet to the spectators it appears that you have the skills of a world class sleight of hand maestro. The routine is tightly constructed and there is no confusion as to what card is where that plagues many transposition effects - which it can be argued is really what the Jazz Aces plot really is. There is just the right amount of "proving" and the vanishes are clean and the displays actually nullify a little inherent weakness of a certain sleight. [N.B.: For those that purchase this, you will know the sleight and if you read Simon Lovell's thoughts on it, you will know why I love what Aldo does after each vanish. While I do not necessarily agree with Simon Lovell's remark about this certain sleight it is nonetheless food for thought]. Don't look for high production values here. The focus is on the magic and so the camera angle is centered on Aldo - as it should be. Producers take note: we magicians want the MAGIC. If we want special effects we can always watch The Lord of the Rings or the newest Star Trek movie. Aldo painstakingly reviews each crucial step and like a great teacher does, he already anticipates potential trouble spots and really clarifies what you should be doing such that you cannot miss. I like the relaxed teaching style of Aldo Colombini and I think I am far from alone in this assertion. Some may argue that 10.00 is a rather steep price for ONE effect. But, that argument is invalid because Italian Serenade is approximately a dozen effects rolled into a beautifully constructed routine. Harry Lorayne thought so much of it that this effect was the COVER item for the Colombini one man issue of Apocalypse. Besides, effects like Akira Fuji's Linking Cigarettes is selling for approximately 50 smackers for ONE effect - albeit a really cool one. By the way, you read that there are vanishes. If you are thinking that palming is involved and as such would hesitate in buying this, please don't? There IS no palming. That said, you ARE setup at the end to reproduce the kings in a dizzying amount of ways so if you want to muscle it up a bit more, feel free! If you do not do a Jazz Aces routine because you felt that it lacked a real punch but you were always interested in the plot, then Italian Serenade is what you are looking for. It is a joy to perform and so much magic is packed into this routine that you will simply love performing it. Thanks Aldo for a GREAT routine. Again, this is available at Lybrary.com; it is ALSO available at Aldo's site. 10.00 USD for a magic packed card effect that you can "go to" at anytime is a steal. Ahimsa, Vlad |
Cameron Francis V.I.P. 7025 Posts |
I love this routine. Thanks for posting this review, Vlad. More people need to know about it.
MOMENT'S NOTICE LIVE 3 - Six impromptu card tricks! Out now! http://cameronfrancismagic.com/moments-notice-live-3.html
|
motown Inner circle Atlanta by way of Detroit 6127 Posts |
Buy it from Aldo, if you're going to buy it. You couldn't buy from a nicer guy.
"If you ever write anything about me after I'm gone, I will come back and haunt you."
– Karl Germain |
pabloinus Inner circle 1683 Posts |
I got an email from Aldo on an offer that I think is great, any 15 products for $100. Contact Aldo for the details wildcolombini.com
|
motown Inner circle Atlanta by way of Detroit 6127 Posts |
Plus free shipping.
"If you ever write anything about me after I'm gone, I will come back and haunt you."
– Karl Germain |
music_guy New user 7 Posts |
For those interested in Aldo Colombini's magic, his two Out-of-Print hardcover books, Close-Up Magic of Aldo Colombini and What's Up Deck, are currently available, new in Shrink-Wrap, on that "big E" auction site, ending tomorrow.
|
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Ebooks, PDF's or Downloads » » Review: Italian Serenade by Aldo Colombini (0 Likes) |
[ Top of Page ] |
All content & postings Copyright © 2001-2024 Steve Brooks. All Rights Reserved. This page was created in 0.03 seconds requiring 5 database queries. |
The views and comments expressed on The Magic Café are not necessarily those of The Magic Café, Steve Brooks, or Steve Brooks Magic. > Privacy Statement < |