Pianist Anat Fort and her trio of Gary Wang/b and Roland Schneider/dr team up with Gianluigi on the rarely jazzed up alto clarinet for some interesting sparring. Fort bookends the meeting with solo pieces, a spacious “First Rays” and a closing “Sun” that calmly sets. There’s also a dramatic prancing and dancing trio “It’s Your Song” that has Schneider’s ride cymbal kicking his heals. Fort’s touch is strong and mixes percussion with passion quite well.
When Trovesi joins in, you get a melancholy duet with Fort on “Earth Talks” while the whole team gets quite aggressive on the yearning and abstract “Not The Perfect Storm.” The reed oozes on the gentle “Milarepa, Pt 1” and the two part “Song of the Phoenix” has some thoughtful and passionate moments that go deep into the viscera, while “Murmuration” is a pulse of impressionism. Trovesi is able to flutter and brood in and can create some dark moods, as on “Jumpin’ In” with sepia shades fitting in with almost every piece. Long shadows here.
ECM Records