Enrico Rava – Fearless Five

Enrico Rava is the great ancestor of today’s Italian jazz.

But an ancestor on whom the weight of years does not seem to weigh. An ancestor who regularly renews the members of his groups by bringing in musicians from the younger generation: a breeding ground to which the veteran blower is constantly attentive.

Gone, then, for this new opus, are Gianluca Petrella’s trombone and Gabriele Evangelista’s double bass, replaced respectively by Matteo Paggi and Francesco Ponticelli.

As for the drums, they are held by a young woman, also briefly vocalist on one track: Evita Polidoro. In fact, guitarist Francesco Diodati is the only “survivor” from Rava‘s previous bands.

Half of the repertoire that the trumpeter-flugelhornist has composed or updated for this group is made up of short pieces lasting around two minutes, with the rest ranging from six to eleven minutes.

This allows the musicians to stretch out at length on sometimes abstract themes, and at other moments to focus on small, mostly slow-tempo miniatures where the melody – often typically transalpine in its cantabile limpidity – takes precedence. Rava, as we know, is a lyricist, and this vein is masterfully expressed here in both the themes and the solos of the “maestro”, whose inventiveness never fails.

Enrico Rava © Roberto Cifarelli

Moreover, Rava remains a great fan of classic jazz, and his love of Louis Armstrong is never in doubt. So, it’s hardly surprising to hear here and there, under the fingers of the Fearless Five, accents or melodic snatches worthy of the Hot Five.

As for Rava‘s young sidemen, they are beyond reproach. Francesco Diodati, who has been collaborating with Rava for the past ten years, brings his “Frisellian” guitar sound to the band. Matteo Paggi‘s trombone expresses itself with a warm virtuosity that makes him the new transalpine revelation on the instrument. Francesco Ponticeli‘s double bass is remarkably supple and deep. As for Evita Polidoro, her drums, full of finesse and tone, make a first-rate contribution to the group she supports.

A fine achievement, then, from musicians who – thanks to Enrico Rava‘s reputation in France – should soon be appearing on French stages, offering a typically Italian vision of jazz that we never tire of admiring.