Alessandro Florio: Controra Avenue

Jazz organ trios tend toward a funky, nitty-gritty sound, like a night out at a juke joint in Mississippi. Italian guitarist Alessandro Florio presents a different approach, much like lazing away on a warm, sunny day at a Mediterranean beach. Not that he cannot bring the groove when he wants, but Florio's album lives up to its name of an imaginary street in New York City that reflects the time after lunch, "controra" in Italian, when the sun is the hottest, and everything is sedate: Controra Avenue.

Much of the inspiration for the album is from Florio's home in Southern Italy, the Amalfi Coast. He reimagines two old Neapolitan songs as jazz pieces, with great success. The opener, "Reginella," is a mid-tempo number that evokes some of the great 1950s organ-trio groups. Kyle Koehler, who has worked with Don Braden and Don Cherry, does an excellent job driving the song on Hammond organ, along with Carmen Intorre on drums, another NYC pro. They provide a strong base with which Florio can swing. "Come Pioveva," the other Neapolitan number, is a ballad that Florio approaches delicately with soulful guitar work throughout.

Additional highlights include "Fratm' Fa," a Florio original in tribute to a late friend, features some excellent interaction between Koehler and Florio on a beautifully swinging number; "Taneda," another Florio original and the funkiest tune on the album, featuring Troy Roberts on saxophone (he guests on two other songs) and Florio getting a bit grittier with his guitar playing; and "Trouble #02," a blues by Stanley Turrentine that Roberts started playing spontaneously in the studio and the trio joined in for what turned out to be the perfect joyous ending to the album.

Florio's crisp guitar tone is reminiscent of a mix of Jim Hall and Kenny Burrell, but he maintains his own voice and style throughout the album. This is his return to the organ trio format after ten years, and he demonstrates an intuitive understanding of how the elements of the trio fit together successfully.