The dry-toned and very individual-sounding alto saxophonist
Lee Konitz recorded frequently for the Italian label Philology during the 1990s, and this quartet session with avant-garde trumpeter
Enrico Rava, bassist
Rosario Bonaccorso, and drummer
Massimo Manzi is a first-rate affair, though primarily in a straight-ahead setting. On most tracks, the co-leaders generally take turns exchanging solos of no more than a chorus or two in length, with pulsing but never dull support underneath by
Bonaccorso and
Manzi. "What's New" is played as a quasi-bossa nova, and "Cherokee" becomes a catchy samba; while "Cherokee" and "I'll Remember April" follow more predictable routes, though both are played with a lot of passion. Each musician also contributes an original:
Konitz supplies an inventive march in which his alto and
Rava's muted horn share a unison line before the exciting solos begin, while
Rava's title track has a somewhat wandering theme but some of his best playing on the date. This very enjoyable CD is warmly recommended. ~ Ken Dryden