Record Reviews

ENRICO RAVA ~ EDIZIONE SPECIALE ECM 2672 (Barcode: 602438718733) ~ ITALY ~ Jazz Recorded: 2019 Released: 2021 This is a live album by the iconic Italian trumpeter / composer / bandleader Enrico RavaFind albums by this artist, recorded in a sextet setting with young Italian musicians: saxophonist Francesco BearzattiFind albums by this artist, guitarist Francesco DiodatiFind albums by this artist, pianist Giovanni GuidiFind albums by this artist, bassist Gabriele EvangelistaFind albums by this artist and drummer Enrico MorelloFind albums by this artist. The album presents six tracks, three of which are original compositions by Rava, one is a medley of a standard and another Rava composition, one is credited to five of the sextet members and finally one is a Cuban bolero song. The sound of the recording is rather murky and unfocused, surely sub-standard as far as ECMFind albums on this label sound quality is concerned and it suffers from balance problems for the entire duration. Rava is of course the Godfather of modern Italian Jazz and is beyond any classification or critique, in view of his enormous contribution to Italian / European Jazz, and despite his age (born 1939) is still a tremendous performer and composer. In my very personal opinion this sextet is not one of his strongest ensembles, suffering from internal imbalance, lack of coherence and stylistic inconsistence, but it definitely has its moments. As all young European Jazz players, this young Italian lineup has a lot of potential, but is not fully “domesticated” at the time of the recording, perhaps recorded a tad too early? Overall, this is an experiment with young musicians, celebrating the Maestro’s 80’s Birthday, which sounds a bit chaotic and undisciplined, but has its moments, with Rava still playing with full control of his qualities. The pleasure is somewhat dented by problematic sound quality / recording balance.

Updated: 22/12/2025Posted: 22/12/2025

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