Giacomo Smith – Artfullee

It begins with a clarinet featuring a richly woody tone and a laid-back phrasing, supported by a rhythm section with a supple, bouncy groove.

From the very start, we’re irresistibly drawn to this rich sound, as the piano weaves delicious harmonies before launching into a luminous solo. And we’re far from expecting the surprises to come, as the bandleader then picks up a livelier alto saxophone, behind which the trio soars into a full-bodied accompaniment, followed by a superb solo from the double bass.

Then the clarinet returns, higher in pitch but still just as fluid and dreamy, while the drummer’s mallets and the double bass play a syncopated dance behind it, punctuated by the piano’s refined arpeggios.

These four musicians truly have a knack for creating atmospheres with minimal resources. Here, there’s never any excess; rather, it’s often a skillfully orchestrated “less is more” approach, where the musicians’ feeling is expressed at times with restraint, at times with greater fervor, but always vibrantly. And we find ourselves pleasantly carried away by the swirls of sound produced by the clarinet—whose tone has become just a touch fieryer—rising like smoke escaping from a chimney and gently winding its way toward the heavens.

And when the bandleader picks up a soprano sax to play a theme with a superbly lyrical melody, followed by another with joyful Dixieland accents, he reveals yet another facet of his talent in a thoroughly compelling way. It must be said that the trio backing the reed player is top-notch: the piano has a singing, crystal-clear tone and a flow that is at times languid, at times more lively, and its accompaniment is either exquisitely subtle or remarkably energetic.

The double bass boasts a truly beautiful tone and, on up-tempo pieces, an irresistible drive. As for the drums, they are as percussive as they are melodic and play a full part in crafting the ensemble’s magnificent sound. In a style that is both classical and thoroughly contemporary—where the quartet primarily performs the leader’s compositions and a Duke Ellington theme—this group has what it takes to delight a wide audience that cannot remain unmoved by such sincerity and artistry.