Label: ECM Records, 2026
Personnel - Enrico Rava: trumpet; Joe Lovano: tenor saxophone, tarogato; Matteo Paggi: trombone; Francesco Diodati: guitar; Francesco Ponticelli: bass; Evita Pollidoro: drums, vocals.
Illustrious Italian trumpeter and composer Enrico Rava, a longtime force on the European jazz scene, returns with his Fearless Five ensemble, welcoming guest saxophonist Joe Lovano, a powerhouse improviser who had collaborated with the bandleader on the live recording Roma (ECM, 2019). All members of the quintet contribute compositions, trusting the bandleader's candidly investigative approach that opposes rigid perceptions.
Rava's "Certi Angoli Segreti", an exceptionally beautiful tune first recorded in 1998, gracefully materializes with beautiful color shades. Francesco Diodati's guitar gives it a particular touch, later soloing with motivic ability and acerbic distortion; Francesco Ponticelli's dynamic bass builds a solid foundation with drummer Evita Polidoro; Lovano's storytelling comes with delightful details; trombonist Matteo Paggi's expressions are grounded and exploratory; and Rava excels in his improvisational fluctuations—sometimes angular and outside, other times hypnotically flowing and distinctively melodic.
Rava brings two other previously recorded pieces: "Hitchcock at the Beach", whose balladic feeling and original beauty are preserved despite emerging here most as a collaborative voice-trumpet meditation; and the exciting "Bowery Dance", which evokes Rava's New York years with an electrified intro, authoritative bass double-stops, and a crisp backbeat. Lovano and Rava improvise with fire, rejoicing in unison lines in support of their declarations.
Lovano is credited with a couple of distinct compositions. The open-ended "Sun Rava" is full of possibilities, incorporating sharp staccato blows, buoyant swing impulses, and clever pedal points, also featuring improvised dialogues between Rava and Paggi, and then Diodati and Lovano, before the saxophonist rambles freely over the bass-and-drums bedrock. "Tone, Shape, and Colours", a free improvisation based on a riff by Lovano, brings the horn players together in lively conversation.
If the rhythm section kicks into high gear on Lovano's pieces, it eases into the softer lyrical flow of Diodati's "Sin Peso", a burnished ballad suggesting a bolero feel, and Polidoro's "Le Mie Gambe", which, unfolding in 3/4, features the drummer as a vocalist of surprising intensity.
Since the early '70s, Rava—who turned 87 in August—has led a series of highly rewarding albums, and Corners is no exception.
Favorite Tracks:
01 - Certi Angoli Segreti ► 06 - Tune, Shape, and Colours ► 08 - Bowery Dance