Dancers in Love

This is mild fare, at least compared to saxophone quartets such as the World Saxophone Quartet. Lightly swinging, with tight harmonies, this Italian group performs gracefully with an elegant gait. When the group is at its best, as on Duke Ellington's rarely performed yet hot "Wall Street Wail," it generates some excitement, but it is mundane on the more subdued pieces. To its credit, the quartet is tuneful, in-tune, and tight, with arrangements that sometimes rise to above-average levels. The only player who might be recognized this side of the Atlantic is Pietro Tonolo, who is heard on alto sax (and on soprano on "Wall Street Rag"). This budget issue does not contain any liner notes or accompanying descriptions, but the players are generally easy to identify, as they each play a different type of saxophone. Sometimes, as on Ellington's "Sonnet for Caesar," there is a clear influence of classical music, something that transforms that piece (and others) into something lovely, though unchallenging (at least for the listener). The individual solos are limited, with the greater emphasis on the arrangements. While there is a high level of performance, the quartet might have benefited from including some brass instruments for diversity. The gentle bird-like sonorities work for awhile before becoming a tad tedious. There is often a show tune quality, too, that permeates and tends to overwhelm the jazz elements.