Claudio Sanna: Ammentos

A new voice worthy of your consideration is Sardinian pianist Claudio Sanna. His debut Ammentos, or "Memories,' finds a fully developed mature sound that is formed by classical music, but as with many jazz artists, open to other musics.

Classically trained artists like Sanna, Keith Jarrett and Herbie Hancock before him, can also be of their time. Where Jarrett has his transference with Charles Lloyd, Hancock learned jazz from Donald Byrd and then both ended up at the throne of Miles Davis, Sanna has straddled the classical and jazz fields.

The leap between genres requires a break with structure, and the ability to improvise. Sanna's transitions are effortless. The disc opens with "Ichnos," a fully-composed composition that relies of the constancy of left hand pulse and simple melody. From there, the pianist quotes Schubert with his "Sa Rocca Entosa," a quiet, reflective piece that adds a punch to the ending. But then, we are just getting started. "Sant' Andria" brings to mind the piano athleticism of Craig Taborn, with Sanna's repeated percussive cadence that cascades throughout. Where Sanna's music crosses into the jazz world is through his improvisation, which can be disguised as composition here. His fluent playing, like all great jazzmen, masks his instant compositions. The lullaby "Zisca" begins simply enough, only to draw darker themes into the spiraling tightness of emotion.

His piano acuity, the ability to separate left hand from right is featured on "Sonazzos," a composition that roars with bass line and soars with his improvising right hand. He might have saved the best, or at least the most beautiful, for last —"Maripossa" a snail's-paced improvisation of ineffable sentiment. Bellissimo