Corridonia Jazz Festival

AMG Review of Corridonia Jazz Festival

Ken Dryden
All Music Guide

Phil Woods' second recording with pianist Enrico Pieranunzi's Space Jazz Trio is once again a meeting of jazz masters. Woods' reputation among greats of the alto sax needs no further commentary, but Pieranunzi, one of the finest musicians in Europe and a brilliant composer to boot, is deserving of greater recognition in the U.S. With bassist Enzo Pietropaoli and drummer Roberto Gatto providing the rest of the potent rhythm section, Woods and Pieranunzi explore one another's compositions with gusto. Woods' two contributions include a remake of "Quill" (a tribute to his former musical partner, alto saxophonist Gene Quill) as driving hard bop with great solos by both men and Pietropaoli. They also revisit the alto saxophonist's "Song for Sisyphus," which begins as a mournful allad before erupting into a brisk swinging arrangement. The pianist contributed four original works, including the constantly shifting "Chet" (a perfect salute to the complicated life of Chet Baker) and the turbulent post-bop "Phil's Mood," which honors Woods. Pieranunzi also wrote the bittersweet allad "Hindsight," which is a rare opportunity to hear Woods' tremendous chops on clarinet, an instrument he plays only occasionally on recordings. Concluding this CD are a rhapsodic version (with an unbelievable solo introduction by Woods) of "Lover Man" and a long but never dull workout of "Anthropology." Highly recommended.