Enrico Pieranunzi: Permutation (2012)

C. MICHAEL BAILEY,

C. Michael Bailey

Senior Contributor since 1997

...wants to know if Gene Harris is playing "Summertime" in Heaven...

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Published: May 14, 2012

Track review of "Within The House of Night"

Italy's jazz piano poet, Enrico Pieranunzi, records with his "American Trio"—bassist Scott Colley and drummer Antonio Sanchez—on Permutation, a collection of original Pieranunzi compositions that concentrate on percussive motifs and rhythmic variations. Pieranunzi's résumé is long and varied, and Permutation shows the pianist has no plans in slowing down his musical explorations.

For all of the impressive composition on the disc, it is Pieranunzi's evening ballad, "Within the House of Night," that illustrates the composer's firm grasp of the simple and elegant. Its theme is a pretty ascending pattern that the pianist resolves properly, but not before adding the slightest bit of tension to the mix. Colley echoes the theme pizzicato, while Sanchez remains quite inconspicuous until the third variation, when he lightly brushes his snare drum, accenting with the cymbals.

"Within the House of Night" is a bit of romance among a crowd of muscular invention.

Personnel: Enrico Pieranunzi: piano; Scott Colley: bass; Antonio Sanchez: drums.

Record Label: Cam Jazz
Style: Modern Jazz