Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Giovanni Guidi Trio: City of Broken Dreams
Giovanni Guidi Trio: City of Broken Dreams
ByGuidi debuted on ECM, as a sideman, on Enrico Rava's Tribe (2011), which is, perhaps, the Italian trumpeter's finest recorded outing, due in no small part, to his rhythm section, headed up by the pianist. With City of Broken Dreams, the young pianist gets his chance to step out front in the context of a very democratic piano triowith a set that stands amongst the best of ECM's recent piano trio outings.
Guidi's compatriots here are the recently prolific (ECM-wise) bassist Thomas Morganwho has contributed to Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stańko's superb Wislawa (2013) and pianist Craig Taborn's edgy and modernistic Chants (2013)along with Portuguese drummer Joao Luis Lobo, who played on Guidi's earlier Cam Jazz recordings.
The music this trio makes shimmers on the gentle and pensive journey of the opening title tune, explores a stately, calming mood on "Leonie," and then plucks into a prickly intro on "Just One More Time" before Morgan and Joao drift into a timeless reverie, sans piano, until Guidi glides back in with the fairytale melody.
The trio alternates between the pensive and the angular avant-garde, specializing in understatement and intricate interplay. "The Way Some People Live" features a spare and pretty melody underscored by Morgan's perfectly placed notes, Joao's minimalist and almost covert percussion accents, setting a dream-like mood.
It's recordings like the Giovanni Guidi Trio's City of Broken Dreams that are a reminder of the endless potential of the piano trio for offering up unalloyed beauty and intrigue.
Track Listing
City of Broken Dreams; Leonie; Just One More Time; The Forbidden Zone; No Other Possibility; The Way Some People Live; The Impossible Divorce; Late Blue; Ocean View; City of Broken Dreams, var.
Personnel
Giovanni Guidi
pianoGiovanni Guidi: piano; Thomas Morgan: double bass; João Lobo: drums.
Album information
Title: City of Broken Dreams | Year Released: 2013 | Record Label: ECM Records
< Previous
Take Five With Jon Sheckler