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