Gianluigi Trovesi Ottetto: Fugace.

(ECM 1827 B0000849-02)

Remember when Italian films were all the rage? This new release from ECM may well make some listeners recall those days. Indeed, some of the music on Fugace sounds like music Fellini would have used in his sound tracks. A little ragtime, a little blues, some St. Louis and Kansas City and New Orleans, some old-sounding licks wrapped in modern electronica, a little psychedelic blues guitar here and there--a real gumbo, Italian-style. Trovesi plays alto sax and various clarinets, while the rest of his octet includes Beppe Caruso on trombone, Massimo Greco on trumpet and electronics, Marco Remondini on cello and electronics, Roberto Bonati on acoustic bass, Marco Micheli on acoustic and electric bass, Fulvio Maras on percussion and electronics, and Vittorio Marinoni on drums. The music is bold and bracing, clever and quirky, yet rooted squarely in the jazz idiom. Yes, it's a bit out of left field, but I recommend Fugace to jazz lovers with a sense of fun and adventure--and to cinema buffs who love those old Fellini movies.