Label: Via Venetto Jazz, 2024

Personnel - Dayna Stephens: tenor saxophone; Philip Dizack: trumpet; Emiliano D’Auria: piano; Rick Rosato: acoustic bass; Kweku Sumbry: drums.

For his Brooklyn-recorded album, The Baggage Room, Italian pianist and composer Emiliano D’Auria assembles a formidable quintet rounded out by American musicians. The album features a dynamic frontline composed of first-caliber improvisers—saxophonist Dayna Stephens and trumpeter Philip Dizack—while bassist Rick Rosato and drummer Kweku Sumbry join the bandleader to form a cohesive rhythm section. Consisting of nine gorgeous D’Auria compositions, the album pays tribute to the Italian and European migrants who left their homelands in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in search of a better future in America.

The narrative opens with impact, as the first two tracks make an immediate impression. The title track, “The Baggage Room”, showcases rhythmic accents reminiscent of electronic music, underpinned by a snare-driven marching impetus and ecstatic horn lines that carve out compelling melodies. After an introspective passage where Stephens and Dizack alternate solos, the two horn players juxtapose their voices in a vibrant dance athletically underpinned by the rhythm team. “1891: Ellis Island”, introduced by Sumbry’s assertive drumming and marked by a strong piano-bass alignment, evolves with a danceable rock-tinged progression that serves as a springboard for Dizack’s expressive brilliance. Stephens follows with a more meditative solo, supported by D’Auria’s sparse harmonic textures.

“Temporarily Detained” emulates the tension and uncertainty faced by detainees at Ellis Island through taut, incisive melodic lines. A descending trumpet motif evokes “The Peacocks”, before the piece bursts into a frenzied swing, concluding on a 12-beat vamp. “Searching For the New World” conjures an Enrico-Rava -meets-Mike-Turner landscape, while “The Story of Sacco and Vanzetti”—inspired by the two anarchist laborers controversially convicted and executed in 1927 Massachusetts—cracks into classic hard-bop with a moody swing, channeling the vibes of Lee Morgan, Art Blakey, and Kenny Dorham. The horns are stellar here, improvising fluidly over an articulated mesh of piano, bass, and drums.

While “The Long Wait” is largely a piano trio ballad, the horns catch up in the final section for a touching resolution. then “Third Class” begins with a sustained bass pedal, a fine ride cymbal pulse, and unison folk-tinged melodies before shifting moods via reverb-soaked transitions that sweep across the stereo field.

D’Auria’s American adventure has culminated in a strong album, crafted by a simpatico unit energized by the commanding presence of its frontline.