Roma

Recorded live at Rome’s Auditorium Parco della Musica last November, this album documents the meeting of the doyen of Italian jazz, Enrico Rava (who recently celebrated his 80th birthday), with Joe Lovano, masterful US tenorist of Sicilian heritage.

Rava and Lovano front a spirited quintet that includes lyrical pianist Giovanni Guidi, dynamic drummer Gerald Cleaver and rising star bassist Dezron Douglas (who makes his ECM debut here). Well-loved tunes by the two bandleaders form the core of the programme, including Enrico’s intricate Interiors and Secrets and Joe’s vigorous Texas blues Forth Worth, which recalls the energies of Ornette and Dewey Redman.

The programme concludes with an extended and powerful medley that roams across the history of modern jazz as it gathers together Lovano’s Drum Song, John Coltrane’s Spiritual and the standard tune Over The Rainbow.

Personnel: Enrico Rava: flugelhorn; Joe Lovano: tenor saxophone, tarogato; Giovanni Guidi: piano; Dezron Douglas: double bass; Gerald Cleaver: drums