This post is by Scott and Dan
Recorded on February 15 - 16, 1988
This Italian quartet clearly demonstrates the high standards of European jazz during the 1980s. Each member is a bona fide virtuoso who knows the others well enough to read their thoughts and anticipate their moves. Aldo Romano, while the nominal leader, cedes the solo spotlight to Paolo Fresu and Franco D'Andrea. Romano is featured on the first six minutes of "Ritual," using his toms to herald D'Andrea's sparkling piano solo. Except for "9th" and the driving opener, "Magic of Tomo," the overall mood is relaxed.
Fresu's heroes are fellow Italian Enrico Rava and Americans Miles Davis and Chet Baker. His muted and open horn throughout the album recalls all three trumpet stars while crafting unique lines of his own. The obvious tribute, "Absence (Chet Baker)" is not sentimental but rather reminiscent of Baker's open-horn ballad style. Furio Di Castri is featured on bass on this song.
On "Magic of Tomo" and "Fragments," Fresu uses "effects" on the Yamaha SPX to create what sounds like an overdubbed trumpet. This does not spoil the otherwise natural acoustic of the quartet, but it also seems unnecessary.
While Fresu is channeling Davis and Baker, D'Andrea consistently creates the most noteworthy solos on the album. As our post for the pianist's Chromatic Phrygian notes, D'Andrea is one of the most prolific European jazz pianists across several decades, not just the 1980s. As good as he is, he does not try to steal the show on Ritual but rather meshes perfectly with the group.
We are unsure which artists composed the eight tunes on Ritual, but none of the titles appear to be from outside the group. Some sound a bit like standards, but they are not.
The quartet reassembled for Non Dimenticar (Polygram, 1993), a collection of traditional Italian music that is also highly recommended.
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