Art Studio is an excellent Italian free jazz quartet, comprised of saxophonist
Carlo Actis Dato, guitarist
Claudio Lodati, bassist
Enrico Fazio, and drummer Fiorenzo Sordini, plus, on occasion, vocalist Irene Robbins. This double-CD -- a compilation of four albums released on the C.M.C. label from the late '70s to mid-'80s -- paints a revealing picture of an empathically inclined band of world-class improvisors that's probably less well-known than it should be. Saxophonist
Dato is an especially powerful musician. His technique is notably well-rounded; he might just as easily play a delicately articulated, finely nuanced slip of lyrical melody as a rabid, overtone-blowing saxophonic howl. I would imagine this to be an important document to Italian free jazz aficionados, and should be checked out by chauvinistic Americans, as well. ~ Chris Kelsey