Rava and Bollani
Italian magicians ! Enrico Rava on trumpet and Stephano Bollani on piano. Hammering some driving rhythms out of a Steinway, using not just the pedals and the keyboard, but walloping the case for percussion, and leaning inside and plucking the strings too. The rapport between the two players is wonderful to see, all done with such humour, and almost cheek from the younger Bollani to the older Rava. Rava really gives Bollani free rein to develop his piano solos. It’s great live jazz - I wondered whether it would work on disk, and didn’t buy one in the end. But I’d go and see them again, without a doubt