After World War II's wave of adulation and imitation, it's clear that many Italian musicians have branded jazz with individual characteristics. To jazz, they bring a poetic sense of eternal cantabile, drama, film, classical and folk influences.
Saxophonist Gianni Basso and pianist Renato Sellani, Piemontese octogenarians, pay retrospective homage on Body and Soul, caressing Swing Era favorites with devotion and delight, grace and poetry. Basso models his brimming, avuncular style on Coleman Hawkins, complete with gruff, burly tone, nowhere more in evidence than on the pace-setting title track. Sellani approaches Teddy Wilson with a conservatory touch, discreetly tasteful and tidy, bubbling over but occasionally, as on "Watch What Happens". This Legrand tune, along with "Beyond The Sea" and Latin classics, give away their European bent. - Fred Bouchard
Tracks
1. Body And Soul (E.Heyman/R. Sour/F. Eyton)
2. La Mer (A. Lasry/C. Trenet)
3. Star Dust (H. Carmichael)
4. Ma L’Amore No (G. D'anzi)
5. Deep Purple (P. DeRose)
6. Pennies From Heaven (A. Johnston)
7. My Foolish Heart (V. Young)
8. I Should Care (S. Can/A. Stordahl)
9. Watch What Happens (M. Legrand)
10. Miss Bo (G. Basso)
11. Solamente Una Vez (A. Lara)
12. I Love you (C. Porter)
GIANNI BASSO piano
RENATO SELLANI tenors saxophone
Recorded May 24 & 25, 2008 at Fonoprint Studio in Bologna
Venus Records VHCD-1018