Record of the day: Enrico Rava Quintet, “The Words & the Days”

Enrico Rava Quintet, “The Words and the Days” (Cd ECM 19821709773)

In the album cover photos, taken with the usual wisdom by Roberto Masotti, the musicians of Enrico Rava’s quintet appear numb from the cold, against the luminescent background of the porticoes in the center of Udine; as soon as you start the album, however, the enveloping warmth of Rava’s trumpet and the refined interplay of the other protagonists dispel any suspicion of coldness, even if the melancholy that envelops the trumpeter’s latest recordings continues to persist.

At the release of this album Rava has favored more reflective atmospheres for some time, the incandescent years of the free period and the electric and distorted flashes of the Electric Five group have passed; after all, his career has been progressing confidently for decades and he no longer has to demonstrate his technical virtuosity to anyone, he can therefore concentrate more on extracting everything possible from phrases of introverted lyricism, where a few notes are enough to create an enchanted atmosphere (listen to the opening phrase of “Tutù”), using slight oscillations of intonation to give precious nuances to the purity of the singing.

The piano of Andrea Pozza (who has the arduous task of replacing Stefano Bollani in the group) has a remarkable ability to create harmonic structures where space is the predominant part, leaving the other musicians the possibility of inserting themselves freely and in the meantime considerably enriching the songs through the use of refined chordal combinations.

The rhythm section of Rosario Bonaccorso (double bass, his solo in “Sogni prohibiti” is very beautiful) and Roberto Gatto (drums) avoids any inappropriate protagonism, demonstrating a continuous rhythmic elasticity that plays into the leader’s intense compositions, among which stand out the beautiful melodies of “Todamor” and the title track, and the ironic flow of “Bob the Cat” (a tribute to Brookmeyer?), while the covers of Don Cherry’s “Art Déco” and “The Wind” are also excellent ” by Russ Freeman. Gianluca Petrella’s trombone acquires maturity and security with each new record release, interacting with Rava’s trumpet in order to create a dialogue that is sometimes dense and rhythmically robust, in other cases relying only on light muted colors through total control of the instrument . A perfect album for autumn, to be savored calmly.

Carlo Boccadoro, composer and conductor, was born in Macerata in 1963. He lives and works in Milan. He collaborates with soloists and orchestras in different parts of the world. He is the author of numerous books on musical topics.

This text is taken from “Lunario della musica: A record for every day of the year” published by Einaudi, courtesy of the author and the publisher.