The dry-toned and very individual-sounding alto saxophonist Lee Konitz recorded frequently for the Italian label Philology during the 1990s, and this quartet session with avant-garde trumpeter EnricoRava, bassist Rosario Bonaccorso, and drummer Massimo Manzi is a first-rate affair, though primarily in a straight-ahead setting. On most tracks, the co-leaders generally take turns exchanging solos of no more than a chorus or two in length, with pulsing but never dull support underneath by Bonaccorso and Manzi. "What's New" is played as a quasi-bossa nova, and "Cherokee" becomes a catchy samba; while "Cherokee" and "I'll Remember April" follow more predictable routes, though both are played with a lot of passion. Each musician also contributes an original: Konitz supplies an inventive march in which his alto and Rava's muted horn share a unison line before the exciting solos begin, while Rava's title track has a somewhat wandering theme but some of his best playing on the date. This very enjoyable CD is warmly recommended. - Ken Dryden
Tracks
1. What's New (Haggart)
2. Thingin' (Konitz)
3. Cherokee (Noble)
4. Darn That Dream (Van Heusen)
5. I'll Remember April (Raye/De Paul)
6. L'Age Mür (Rava)
7. Solar (Davis)
LEE KONITZ alto saxophone
ROSARIO BONACCORSO bass
MASSIMO MANZI drums
ENRICO RAVA trumpet
Recorded February 10, 1997 at Murec Studio, Milano
Philology – W 123.2 (Italy)