It's easy to like a number of things about
Rosario Giuliani's More Than Ever, but it's the album's unusual surprises that put it over the top. On the album's first two cuts, the title track and "Seven Thoughts," saxophonist (both alto and soprano)
Giuliani is joined by bassist
Rémi Vignolo, drummer
Benjamin Henocq, and pianist Jean-Michael Pilc. The style here lies somewhere between mainstream and post-bop, and
Giuliani and Pilc's methods, alternately passionate and abstract, make them satisfying counterparts. This alone would make for a good album, but
Giuliani mixes things up by switching Pilc out for accordion player
Richard Galliano on four tracks. Clearly, accordion jazz musicians are in short supply, so much so that it would be easy for many jazz lovers to have never heard one. But far from a novelty,
Galliano's accordion fits right into the program, adding a warm, friendly vibe to his self-penned "I Remember Astor" and "J.F.," two of the three pieces not written by
Giuliani. Both combos are woven throughout the recording, and the fact that they are both underpinned by
Giuliani,
Vignolo, and
Henocq gives the album -- despite the slightly different feel of each combo -- an overall unity. For fans of
Giuliani's previous albums and for anyone who likes stimulating contemporary jazz, More Than Ever is a strong entry. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.