Bassist
Giovanni Tommaso has a knack for assembling talented groups. For this studio session, he brings together an all-star quintet of Italian hard bop: a front line of trumpeter
Paolo Fresu and alto saxophonist
Massimo Urbani, and a stellar rhythm section of
Tommaso, pianist
Danilo Rea, and drummer
Roberto Gatto. The whole gels, as
Urbani and
Fresu produce the kind of lightening solos that have since brought them international attribution.
Tommaso wrote all the tunes (with the help of
Rea on
"Take the Money and...Spend it!"), which occasionally suffer from an absence of fire. Still, the solos from each bandmember are superb,
Rea proving himself an adept powerhouse, and
Tommaso holding it together with a solid backbone. In all, this is a compelling example of Italian hard bop. ~ Steve Loewy
