Tenho a certeza de que quando coloco as mãos em um cd dele, não sei o que esperar. sempre tenta colocar algo novo para ouvir-nos. Estes lançamentos pela ECM tem a qualidade de que considero ser o melhor trompete de jazz, hoje ! Entre estes 5 cd's, 4 são com o grande Stefano Bollani !
Qual a opinião sobre ele ?
Enrico Rava
New York Days
By John Kelman
In assessing Enrico Rava's lengthy career, while it is clear that he is still reaching for the unattainable, in recent years the Italian trumpeter's context has been considerably more centrist. Easy Living (ECM, 2004) and The Words and the Days (ECM, 2007) were undeniably mainstream, albeit with an unmistakable European and, at times, Mediterranean bent. New York Days teams Rava and pianist Stefano Bollani—last heard in duet on the marvelous The Third Man (ECM, 2008)—together with perennially underrated tenor saxophonist Mark Turner, increasingly ubiquitous bassist Larry Grenadier and drum icon Paul Motian for a set of nine originals and two free improvisations that, like The Third Man combine innate lyricism and swing with some of Rava's freest playing in years.
Whether suggested by Rava or ECM owner/producer Manfred Eicher, it's an inspired grouping. Motian collaborated with Rava and Bollani on TATI (ECM, 2005), though that was a more compositionally democratic affair. Here, with the exception of the two improvs, it's all Rava, and the trumpeter's writing brings the set a greater stylistic focus. The material does have breadth, however, ranging from the dark-hued, European impressionism of "Interiors" to "Thank You, Come Again," which leans more to the west side of the Atlantic in its harmonic approach and gentle swing.
Elsewhere, however, there are unexpected detours. "Outsider" begins with Grenadier's frenetic bass line, setting the stage for Bollani's oblique harmonies and Motian's trademark implicitness. Rava retains his own unmistakable melodicism while reaching for abstract heights as Grenadier, Bollani and Motian regularly break down and regroup, with Rava leaving space for Turner to demonstrate the kind of immediacy that's made him a highly respected figure amongst musicians—if not a hugely popular figure amongst the jazz listening populace. Wayne Shorter-like in his cerebralism and ability to make a single note mean everything, he darts in and out, punctuating and delivering lean, lithe lines that set up a brief but unrelenting duet between Bollani and Motian where the excitement is ratcheted up, with Grenadier only reentering in time for a brief recapitulation of the piece's high velocity theme.
How well these artists work together— intersecting in the past but never together as a quintet (e.g. TATI, Turner with Grenadier in Fly; Grenadier with Motian's Trio 2000+One)—is, perhaps, best heard on the two improvisations. Despite the freedom of "Outsider," "Improvisation I" is a classic case of pulling form from the ether, as the quintet gradually coalesces, over the course of four spare minutes, to create a clear compositional kernel. "Improvisation II" is starker still, but half-way through Bollani begins to bring form, leading to a remarkable series of cascading lines where the quintet magically connects.
Throughout, Turner's interactions with Rava at an equally deep level are further evidence of his remarkable talent. As the entire quintet finds new ways to coincidentally respect and reject tradition, New York Days emerges early in 2009 as one of Rava's richest and most rewarding showings since he returned to the label in 2003.
Track listing: Lulu; Improvisation I; Outsider; Certi Angoli Segreti; Interiors; Thank You, Come Again; Count Dracula; Luna Urbana; Improvisation II; Lady Orlando; Blancasnow.
Personnel: Enrico Rava: trumpet; Mark Turner: tenor saxophone; Stefano Bollani: piano; Larry Grenadier: double-bass; Paul Motian: drums.
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Enrico Rava & Stefano Bollani
The Third Man
By Laurel Gross
Italian trumpeter Enrico Rava and pianist Stefano Bollani have been collaborators for more than a dozen years and the dynamism of their close association is evidenced on their exquisite new duo CD. These two virtuosic and supremely focused performers need no third man to round out their evocative, often introspective and always superb playing on this recording, which features two very different but stunning renditions of Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Retrato Em Branco Y Preto," works from another Brazilian, Moacir Santos, and Italians Bruno Martino and Bruno Brighetti as well as Rava and Bollani originals (they share composer credit for the title track, a nod to the Orson Welles suspense movie).
For the first set of their Feb. 23rd 2008 New York Birdland performance to celebrate this release, as well as the approach of another recording to be realized in a studio soon after, Rava and Bollani enlisted the help of a third, fourth and even a fifth man, top veterans all: bassist Larry Grenadier, drummer Paul Motian and versatile boundary-pushing saxophonist Mark Turner. In a program that included several pieces not from the album and which was somewhat less moody and more rambunctious than the recording, everyone came out swinging and fully supportive of Rava and Bollani's joint vision and sound. Showmanship was also fully operative, the senior Rava with his long flowing hair and the younger animated Bollani providing visual contrast as well as interludes of humorous introductions. (In addition to being a supremely talented keypuncher, Bollani is also known as a quite the cut-up) Motian's active approach, Grenadier's solid bass and Turner's top-flight musings kept everybody in harmony.
But as the duo numbers from the live show demonstrated, the sparer pairing of Rava and Bollani prove the old maxim that less can be more. Their exceptional musical rapport and highly developed individuality in both playing and personality prove more than sufficient to satisfy even the most demanding of listeners. With Rava sometimes getting his clean clarion trumpet to sound like a trombone and Bollani lightly skitting over his keyboard in intricate fast runs, their sound feels pristine and unique.
Track listing: Estate; The Third Man; Sun Bay; Retrato Em Branco Y Preto; Birth of a Butterfly; Cumpari; Sweet Light; Santa Teresa; Felipe; In Search of Titina; Retrato Em Branco Y Preto, Var.; Birth of a Butterfly, Var.
Personnel: Enrico Rava: trumpet; Stefano Bollani: piano.
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Enrico Rava Quintet
The Words and The Days
By Budd Kopman
If you look into the eyes of Enrico Rava as pictured on the cover of Easy Living (ECM, 2004), you will see a man totally at ease with himself and his musical career. Rava's seemingly effortless trumpet tone in all ranges pervades the music on that album with the warmth of the setting sun in the same cover photo, without neglecting the necessary intensity of all good jazz.
The Words and the Days brings back the same quintet, with one change: Andrea Pozza takes over the piano seat from Stefano Bollani. The music still has the Italianate warm that emanates from Rava's trumpet, but now it has an undertone which infuses every track with a kind of concentrated lightness that can move at will in any direction. Rava does not waste a single note when he plays.
This feeling is perhaps most noticeable in the second track, "Secrets." On that tune, these ears kept hearing strong echoes of Tomasz Stanko and Krzysztof Komeda. While their career arcs have been compared, Rava and Stanko do not sound alike at all (the former is light and smooth as silk, the latter has a burr and is on the dark side). However, "Secrets" has many moments that could make one think of Komeda's "Kattorna" in both motive and construction. Also, Pozza's contributions sound very much like those of Wasilewski on Lontano, and without stretching too far, "The Words And The Days," with its endless feel of unresolving introduction, could also have appeared on the same record. Perhaps the two men, in honing their musical experiences down to the barest minimums, have crossed paths.
Bollani, who deeply acknowledges Rava's mentoring, left the band to pursue his own career as a leader and soloist. Pozza is not a mere replacement, and in many ways he fits the music better. The distinction is hard to describe, but Pozza has a bit more forward energy and a sharper, more angular touch, which contrasts nicely with the round, smooth sounds of Rava's trumpet and Gianluca Petrella's trombone.
The band is perhaps even tighter here than on Easy Living, which I attribute to Pozza and especially Petrella. His solos and of course the exposed duet on Don Cherry's "Art Deco" say a lot, but his counter-lines, which fill both a melodic and harmonic function, are just perfect. Petrella has so deeply internalized Rava's esthetic that his opening notes on "Doctor Ra And Mr. Va" could easily be mistaken for a lower-register Rava, who comes in later and surprises with each listen.
The Words and the Days is a truly gorgeous record that aspires to more than just beauty, combining the rose and the thorn. Rava and the other members of his band are masters in total control of their art, making outstanding music.
Track listing: The Words and the Days; Secrets; The Wind; Echoes of Duke; Tutu; Sogni Proibiti; Todamor; Serpent; Art Deco; Traps; Bob the Cat; Doctor Ra and Mr. Va.
Personnel: Enrico Rava: trumpet; Gianluca Petrella: trombone; Andrea Pozza: piano; Rosario Bonaccorso: bass; Roberto Gatto: drums.
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Enrico Rava
Tati
By Chris May
What you see is not necessarily the only thing you get. The track titles here, including Gershwin's "The Man I Love" and Puccini's "E Lucevan Le Stelle," together with Enrico Rava's celebrated melodic genius, might suggest an album of lush and legato music, comfortably at peace with the world. And indeed, TATI is glowingly lyrical from start to finish. But this lyricism comes with a bite. Like Easy Living, the ECM album which preceded it, this set is multi-levelled: underneath its steady and apparently undisturbed riverlike surface lie darker currents and uncharted depths.
Like his near-contemporary Tomasz Stanko, Rava began his career with both feet planted in free jazz, and he has not forgotten his roots. Age may have tempered his experimentalism and directed it increasingly towards a rapprochement with melodicism, but it has not obscured it.
Rava shares this aesthetic with his two supremely compatible partners. Paul Motian is a uniquely melodic drummer, and like Rava an adagio player par excellence. The relatively young, at thirty-something, Stefano Bollani, a frequent collaborator, is blessed with a melodicism as unquenchable as Rava's, and he's as likely to dart down unexpected, half-hidden passageways.
Whether by design or accident, the edgy qualities in Rava's music become more pronounced as TATI progresses, from track five, "Mirrors," onwards. "Cornettology," at 6:36 the longest track on the album, is a salute to Ornette Coleman's early experiments, with lightning-fast interplay among all three musicians, and Motian's asymmetrical dialoging with Rava especially remarkable. More than Gershwin or Puccini, it defines what TATI is about.
Most of the material here is original, including six tracks by Rava, three by Motian, and one by Bollani, and the three voices mesh seamlessly. Only two tracks are entirely free of dark corners: Motian's Satie-esque "Birdsong" and Rava's rapturous "Golden Eyes." For the rest you can enjoy a spicy and occasionally urgent lyricism which is hugely more-ish, and likely to induce serial hitting of the repeat button.
Track listing: The Man I Love; Birdsong; Tati; Casa Di Bambola; E Lucevan Le Stelle; Mirrors; Jessica Too; Golden Eyes; Fantasm; Cornettology; Overboard; Gang Of 5.
Personnel: Enrico Rava: trumpet, french horn; Stefano Bollani: piano; Paul Motian: drums.
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Enrico Rava
Easy Living
By John Kelman
After nearly 20 years away from the label, Italian trumpet legend Enrico Rava makes a triumphant return to ECM with Easy Living , an album that proves that a relaxed, unforced approach can have its own kind of quiet intensity.
Comparisons can be made to Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko who, also in his 60s, has similarly developed a penchant for a mellower, more soulful approach. Both artists have surrounded themselves with young musicians from their own countries. But there the similarities end. Whereas Stanko's tone is sharp and raspy, Rava's is as rich as a box of dark chocolate; his sound is so warm that it can sometimes be mistaken for flugelhorn.
Rava exercises seemingly effortless control over his instrument. On "Sand" he hits and holds high notes with the kind of command that is heard from few others, perhaps only Kenny Wheeler. And even when he reaches for the high end of his horn he is never brash or piercing; his tone is always warm and appealing.
Rava's writing leaves plenty of room for exploration, all the while maintaining a structure that keeps his young quintet clearly focused. With the exception of drummer Roberto Gatto, all the players are in their late twenties and early thirties, but their musical maturity and broad vocabulary belie their young ages. Most impressive are trombonist Gianluca Petrella and pianist Stefano Bollani; both capable of exquisite tenderness, when things are kicked up a notch, as they are on "Hornette And The Drums Thing," they demonstrate true virtuoso capabilities; and Gatto, who for most of the album is content to create a light framework for the rest of the group, delivers a solo that is notable for its sheer musicality.
While not as inherently adventurous as some of his earlier ECM recordings, including The Pilgrim and the Stars and Opening Night , there are many hidden rewards on Easy Living. From deep within these tunes Rava demonstrates a breadth that can only come from a lifetime of playing in many contexts. From near-bop to subtle abstraction, from cinematic excursions to free-flowing lines, Rava is clearly at the top of his game.
With a style that is completely distinctive, a sound that is warm and lush, and the musical maturity of an artist who has nothing to prove, Rava is in fine form. With Easy Living he returns to the label and producer who gave him his first major exposure on the international stage in 1975; here's hoping this is the beginning of a renewed and long-term relationship.
Track listing: Cromosomi; Drops; Sand; Easy Living; Algir Dalbughi; Blancasnow; Traveling Night; Honerette And The Drums Thing; Rain
Personnel: Enrico Rava (trumpet), Gianluca Petrella (trombone), Stefano Bollani (piano), Rosario Bonaccorso (double-bass), Roberto Gatto (drums)
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