Silent Voices

Bassist Bonati is part of the younger generation of straight-ahead Italian jazz players. For this recording, he assembled a tight quartet, including pianist Stefano Battaglia, percussionist Anthony Moreno, and the lesser-known saxophonist Riccardo Luppi. Bonati composed all the tunes, which tend toward the soft and mellow (with some exceptions). Giorgio Gaslini's liner notes accurately refer to his sounds as "highly poetic music." His bass solos are full and rich, displaying a strong feel for the tradition and an ability to transcend it. Luppi is surprising agile, his playing equally fluid whether on soprano or tenor saxophones, or flute. His soprano burns on the rambunctious "Rosa dei Venti," and elsewhere charmingly lulls. Bonati and his crew point toward the future of mainstream Italian jazz. ~Steve Loewy, Rovi