MusicWeb International

Webmaster: Len Mullenger

[ Jazz index ] [Nostalgia index]  [ Classical MusicWeb ] [ Gerard Hoffnung ]

BUY NOW AmazonUK   AmazonUS

GIOVANNI GUIDI TRIO This Is The Day ECM 470 9271

1. Trilly

2. Carried Away

3. Game Of Silence

4. The Cobweb

5. Baiiia

6. The Debate

7. Where They'd Lived

8. Quizas quizas quizas

9. Migration

10. Trilly var.

11. I'm Through With Love

12. The Night It Rained Forever

Giovanni Guidi - Piano

Thomas Morgan - Double bass

Joćo Lobo - Drums

There must be something in the water in Italy because that country has produced a succession of fine jazz pianists over the years – Enrico Pieranunzi, Rita Marcotulli, Stefano Bollani, for instance, and now, Giovanni Guidi. Guidi had a previous ECM disc released in 2013, entitled City Of Broken Dreams. He has played and recorded with Enrico Rava who has been a source of encouragement and help along the way. Thomas Morgan, his double bassist, who is from the United States, is a member of Tomasz Stanko's New York Quartet and has also collaborated with guitarist John Abercrombie, as well as featuring with Guidi's Quintet. Drummer Joćo Lobo also has links with trumpeter Rava and has played, among others, with saxophonist Julian Arguelles.

All but three of the tunes on this album were written by Guidi, the exceptions being Quizas quizas quizas, the standardI'm Through With Love, and a Lobo piece, Baiiia, which is far and away the most experimental offering on the disc. Trilly, which opens the CD, is an attractive melody sensitively rendered but it is the later reprise, both lovely and rhapsodic, that is my preferred version. Game Of Silence is a beautiful plaintive ballad where Guidi's immaculate touch is notable and Thomas Morgan's bass is right 'on the money' - this is an album where the bass decidedly does not take the back seat! Where They'd Lived, the longest track at just over ten and a half minutes, is a haunting refrain. I'm not sure who Guidi's influences are, on piano, but on this one and subsequently on the exquisite I'm Through With Love, the spirit of Keith Jarrett doesn't seem too far away. I liked Quizas quizas quizas, familiar to English speakers as Perhaps perhaps perhaps, where the sheer quality of Guidi's improvisation can be appreciated, as well as that of his articulate bass player. There's no doubt Lobo is an inventive drummer, too, although on occasions he is a little 'free-range' for my taste. Not every track is a complete success, to my ears at least. The Cobweb, Baiiia and The Debate (the latter despite a promising start) are not quite up to the standard of the rest, being more avant-garde by nature. Nevertheless if, like this reviewer, you enjoy accomplished jazz piano, coupled with uncompromising musicality, this CD will prove to be a satisfying listening experience.

James Poore

Error processing SSI file

Return to Index