Tommaso-rava Quartet - Dolce Vita

1 Profumo Di Donna (Scent of a Woman) - 5:05 2 Mondo Cane (A Dog's World) - 3:42 3 Cinema Moderno - 4:14 4 Ammazzare il Tempo - 5:28 5 Il Sogno Di Hitchcock - 5:37 6 La Dolce Vita (The Sweet Life) - 11:59 7 Il Postino (The Postman) - 7:03 8 L' Avventura (Adventure) - 6:28 9 Il Prato (The Meadow) - 6:08 10 La Prima Volta - 2:55 11 Cronaca Familiare (Family Diary) - 4:42

Aficionados of European films will especially enjoy these treatments of movie themes, featuring a quartet jointly led by bassist Giovanni Tommaso and trumpeter/flügelhornist Enrico Rava, with pianist Stefano Bollani and drummer Roberto Gatto. Throughout the recording, there is a consistent sense of interplay where no one seems relegated to a role in the musical background. The highlight of these studio sessions is the extended, dramatic treatment of "La Dolce Vita," which unfolds into a multi-faceted arrangement that makes it seem like it would have made a fine film score itself. Rava's muted horn is the centerpiece of "Mondo Cane" (which incorporates the well-known song "More"). "Cronoca Familiare" mixes a solid hard bop foundation with adventurous solo flights by Bollani and Rava. There are also several originals written by the band's members. The bassist contributed the tense "Cinema Moderno," a piece full of delightful twists in a post-bop setting, as well as the lush ballad "La Prima Volta." Rava contributed the playful "Il Sogno di Hitchcock" and the moody "Ammazzare il Tempo," written for a 1979 film. The musicians keep their written comments to a minimum within the booklet, evidently preferring that listeners provide their own mental images to go with the quartet's intriguing music. ~ Ken Dryden, Rovi

Price: $18.98