Giuseppe Venezia: I've Been Waiting For You

One of the crucial abilities for a jazz bassist is to blend a group together; regardless of who is playing or soloing, they usually provide rhythmic or harmonic support. So when a bassist acts as leader, they have an intriguing viewpoint around which instrument should play when, and how to structure ensemble compositions for best effect. Italian bassist Giuseppe Venezia has over 20 years of international experience to call upon to demonstrate this. He makes it count across his seven compositions on the album I've Been Waiting For You.

Venezia was mentored in the U.S. by Gerald Cannon and his first release, Infinity (Skidoo, 2013), was in a piano trio with Emmet Cohen. He has since played with Enrico Rava, Mike LeDonne and Joe Farnsworth. Joining him to make up a quintet are some of the best Italian musicians: trumpeter Fabrizio Bosso (significant collaborations include Charlie Haden and Carla Bley), pianist Bruno Montrone (Kurt Rosenwinkel, Jim Snidero), drummer Pasquale Fiore (Antonio Faraò, Scott Hamilton) and the versatile multi-instrumentalist Attilio Troiano on tenor saxophone and flute.

Venezia sets the scene with a neat bass improvisation before moving on to the driving, hard bop-influenced "Messaggeri." Bosso's trumpet solo is fast and free-flowing before the baton passes to Troiano's tenor sax. They drive the swing, Montrone solos and Fiore delivers blistering drum breaks. After that storm comes the welcome ballad, "I've Been Waiting For You." Inspired by Venezia's son, this has a delightful flute melody played by Troiano. Bosso joins and the two alternate improvisations, never straying too far from the melody and melding around Venezia's lyrical touch.

"Song for Gerald," inspired by Cannon, Venezia's mentor and friend, shows Venezia's leadership skills. Like a top Premier League football manager, he chooses the right time to deploy his stars and gives them the freedom to express themselves. They take full advantage. "Just a Line From the Past" is an interesting ballad which opens with Montrone's romantic piano and then revolves around the contrast of Bosso's sweet melodic trumpet and Troiano's faster-paced sax delivery. They both pick up on the faster pace and explore. Venezia's solo finds him at his expressive best before Bosso slows to close.

As might be guessed, "Blue Bird" is a blues-based Charlie Parker tribute. It moves along at a fast speed with agile, high-energy contributions, especially from Bosso, who flies on this. The album closes with "The Shortest Story." Bosso begins with a neat trumpet melody which builds as the rhythm hints at bossa nova, before Troiano's fine flute work takes over. Montrone excels through his solo and Venezia finds some reflective sinuous moments before trumpet and flute combine.

Venezia's compositions are mature and thoughtful and his ensemble writing ability shines through. His bass playing is versatile and expressive throughout the album and his cohesion with Fiore acts as the nexus for the first-class contributions from his other collaborators. Their interplay and passion bring excitement as they joyfully swing through these tunes, making this a successful straight-ahead session with a vintage-era feel.