Lorenzo de Finti Quartet: We Live Here

After some time immersed in the world of electric jazz, Lorenzo De Finti decided it was time to return to the piano and base his next endeavor in warm acoustic tones, and the result is a beautifully cozy experience. The title looks like an obvious Pat Metheny homage which might suggest a feel of Americana, but the pianist's first Losen Records outing mostly shows a meditative chamber vibe instead and the phrase simply refers to being fully present in the current moment.

The quartet certainly lives up to it; they're a smoothly synched unit ready to follow the musical turns together or drift through solo passages for as long as the music demands. De Finti's leads provide pleasing hooks and interesting progressions for the others to work around, always showing an adept feel for ear-catching melody throughout. Bassist Stefano Dall'Ora stands out as the key collaborator, also having co-written the suite, and his rapport with the leader (such as their tandem loping on the emotive "Chorale") makes one of the record's quiet strengths.

The liners say that the writing "took us into a musical space closer to classical music than jazz," but that seasoning is light and subtle (along with including a series of interludes to reinforce the overall form of a cohesive suite). It doesn't sound like classical so much as candlelight jazz—perfectly listenable and pleasant on the surface with more layers underneath to enjoy if you feel like paying closer attention.

Well-spun as the melodies are, De Finti is equally unafraid to slow down and leave room, whether it's for Gendrikson Mena's nuanced horn shadings or just to let the notes breathe. The here they're living in for this moment is a subdued one, inviting, eloquent and understatedly beautiful.

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