Released: April 2011
Alto sax player Paolo Recchia's second outing as leader sees him playing with a trio with a guest appearance on some tracks from immensely talented Alex Sipiagin on trumpet & flugelhorn. For his second album he has chosen to go with a pianoless set up, allowing the horn players plenty and freedom and space to do what they please over some solid backing from the rhythm section of Nicola Muresu and Nicola Angelucci.
Whether the band are in a really swinging groove or playing in a looser more experimental fashion, they always strike a fine balance between the improvisation and the melody, making for a memorable set of tunes. The nine tracks on offer, including four originals, a couple of Rollins compositions, one by Coltrane, and a couple of standards, give Recchia the opportunity to show off various different sides of his style.
There's a delicious cover of Tenor Madness, with some great interplay between Recchia and Sigiapin as well as some impressive solos that pay their dues to the genius of Rollins and 'Trane on the original session yet inject their own character and creativity to the tune. The other Rollins tune featured is Pent-Up House, again given a fantastic treatment, and the band also take on Coltrane's Lazy Bird, with very pleasing results.
In addition to these toe-tapping classics, you have some great ballads, in the form of the impressive November, as well as the standard Who Can I Turn To? in addition to more free-form mood pieces such as Peace Hotel.
Perhaps the two most outstanding tracks, however, are Recchia originals, namely the ultra cool Boulevard Victor and the title track. Ari's Desire is a superb number that has a really spacious and spiritual feel to it with Recchia and Sipiagin harmonising wonderfully on the main motif, yet with the mood and tempo morphing effortlessly in between as both musicians improvise and explore with their solos. Magnificent.
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