While not as dramatic as her role in High Sierra, Carla Bley’s title song about Ida Lupino’s exotic beauty is captured by this free form album lead by pianist Giovanni Guidi and his interactions with Gianluca Petrella/tb, Louis Sclavis/cl-bcl and Gerald Cleaver/dr.
The 14 songs range from 2-9 minutes and no one overstays their welcomes here. “Gato!” is filled with dreamy piano work with cymbal accents and Petrella’s brooding horn, whereas the ‘bone goes from guttural sub-tones to cries of agony on “Per i Morte di Reggio Emilio.”The band propulses forward on the wide eyed “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” and when the bass clarinet jumps in the swirling cymbals of “Just Tell Me Who It Was” you hear the windows rattling. When everyone comes together for the title track, you feel like you’re listening to the actresses dark and penetrating eyes. You can’t veer away.
ECM Records