Roy Powell - Lorenzo Feliciati - Lucrezio de Seta: Aria

Roy Powell has been the quiet man in the engine room for years. British by birth and Norwegian by choice, he once spent serious time as Anthony Braxton's pianist on those wild European tours where the music looked like geometry homework, and the applause was optional. He later slipped into the electric Norwegian wave, trading greasy Fender Rhodes licks with Bugge Wesseltoft and Nils Petter Molvaer when Oslo was busy inventing what magazines called nu-jazz. Powell can venture as far out as anyone or settle into the blues, and he never makes a fuss either way.

On Aria, he finally puts his own name on the front cover of an acoustic trio record and brings along two long-standing collaborators: Lorenzo Feliciati on bass and Lucrezio De Seta on drums. Feliciati is a celebrated Italian session and recording artist known for his work in progressive rock and jazz fusion. De Seta, a versatile Roman drummer, has built a reputation across Italian jazz, rock, and fusion circles. The trio explores the lyrical beauty and harmonic depth of Giacomo Puccini's arias, using them as fertile ground for jazz improvisation alongside Powell's three originals. Nothing here will rewrite history, but when the musicianship is this relaxed and sure-handed, fireworks are unnecessary.

"E Lucevan le Stelle" receives a tender ballad treatment that highlights the trio's melodic focus. Powell's touch evokes the aria's tragic romance with understated grace. With "O mio Babbino Caro" the trio tilt Puccini's delicate melody onto a modern axis, allowing it to hover like a remembered fragment shaped by Powell's spacious harmonic palette. Feliciati provides a supple, almost liquid foundation, and De Seta adds gentle tension with understated drumming. They then dust the sand off "My Funny Valentine" to reveal fresh contours. The melody remains intact, though Powell stretches and angles the phrases with an architectural sensibility that keeps the tune both familiar and intriguingly unsettled. Powell approaches "Nessun Dorma" with elegant restraint. His harmonies cast a cool, suspended glow over the melody, subtly energized by the rhythm section's medium-paced rock pulse.

De Seta colors everything with brushes and space, knowing precisely when to swing and when to let a cymbal decay into silence. Feliciati anchors the trio with woody, melodic lines that are both robust and nimble, providing a natural counterpoint to Powell's phrasing. Together they deliver a thoroughly pleasant album that, while not revelatory, affirms the value of skilled musicians playing with genuine understanding and taste.