“Wild” doesn’t necessarily mean fast or crazed, as Italian trumpeter and bandleader Enrico Rava and his four companions demonstrate on Wild Dance. The bulk of the pieces on this date are slow to medium tempo, modal or modernist excursions into the art of improvisation, including the title track. After a relaxed, scene-setting introductory section that would be at home on the NYC downtown scene, it breaks into a workout for Rava and his guest Gianluca Petrella on trombone, as the two round out the short piece playing contrapuntal arpeggios while guitarist Francesco Diodati, bassist Gabriele Evangelista, and drummer Enrico Morello lay down a rhythmic and chordal foundation under them.
This ensemble is a multi-generational affair. Diodati is in his early 30s, Evangelista and Morello in their 20s, and Petrella about 40. Suffice it to say that Rava has been playing jazz on his trumpet since well before any of them were born. About half of this generous album of 14 tracks, all Rava originals, were composed for this date, the others were chosen by the ensemble from earlier works, some going back to the 1980s. Among the older pieces is the pulse-raising post-bop of “Infant,” which bursts with lively duetting and counterpoint between trumpet and trombone; Diodati contributes some reverse-looped guitar in the modernist middle section. Rava and Petrella’s horns make achingly beautiful harmonies in parts of “Not Funny,” and in other parts their counterpoint calls to mind Italian Renaissance court dances. With mostly post-bop and modal jazz on tap here, they don’t swing much, but when they do they really do as on “F Express.” The remarkable “Cornette” too is thrumming bop with a modernist noise-off in the middle, the guitar and trombone exploring some truly amazing harmonies as Rava improvises melodic turns around them.
I’m particularly taken, though, with the tuneful “Monkitos” with its long free-form trombone solo section, and a couple of lengthier pieces: “Space Girl” with its lovely melodic line and subtle conversations among the rhythm section; and the closer “Frogs,” a tour-de-force eight-minute wrap-up for just the quartet, sans Petrella.
The inclusion of Diodati on guitar and no piano allows the players to open up this music and air it out, which Rava and Petrella take advantage of as they explore the similarities and contrasts of their two horns. There’s plenty of variety here by an ensemble that clearly is enjoying every second.
You can listen to “Cornette” on the ECM web page for Wild Dance.
Francesco Diodati has a website, and Gianluca Petrella also has a website.
