Franco Ambrosetti Band: Lost Within You

  I was quite taken with Long Waves, a 2019 release by trumpet veteran Franco Ambrosetti, so I was glad to receive his new disc in the mail. I’m even happier to report that the rapturous Lost Within You by the Franco Ambrosetti Band is just as deeply satisfying as its predecessor. Recorded almost exactly a year later, the new release gathers the same world-class musicians that appeared on Long Waves: pianist Uri Caine, guitarist John Scofield, bassist Scott Colley, and drummer Jack DeJohnette, with Renee Rosnes, new to Ambrosetti’s orbit, substituting for Caine on 5 tracks. Ambrosetti, who first recorded as a leader back in 1965 for the Durium label, continues to exude enthusiasm and display his endless improvisational imagination. Mostly heard on flugelhorn here, his clear, burnished sound is a delight throughout the lengthy set. Horace Silver’s Peace, given a relaxed rendition with DeJohnette on piano, is the first number in this well-chosen ballad-oriented program, including a pair of new tunes by Ambrosetti. His tender Silli in the Sky, with an echo of My Funny Valentine, is dedicated to his wife (and executive producer), while the charming Dreams of a Butterfly takes its inspiration from a story by Jorge Luis Borges. The band’s delicately paced eleven minute foray into the classic Body and Soul is stunningly beautiful, featuring a richly emotional solo by Ambrosetti and a fine solo by Caine, with exemplary playing by the Colley-DeJohnette team. Flamenco Sketches, the Miles Davis and Bill Evans collaboration from Kind Of Blue, is another highlight, with a lovely Rosnes solo. McCoy Tyner’s You Taught My Heart to Sing, a love song without words, concludes the disc, featuring a masterful solo by Scofield. There’s plenty of good feeling and palpable warmth in this music, resulting in a session worth revisiting again and again. Happily recommended. 

Unit UTR 4907; Franco Ambrosetti (tpt, flgh) Uri Caine* or Renee Rosnes# (p) John Scofield (g) Scott Colley (b) Jack DeJohnette (d; p on Peace); NYC, January 20-24, 2020; Peace/ I’m Gonna Laugh You Right Outta My Life#/ Silli in the Sky#/ Love Like Ours#/ Dreams of a Butterfly*/ Body and Soul*/ People Time*/ Flamenco Sketches#/ You Taught My Heart to Sing#; 72:47. www.unitrecords.com

Franco Ambrosetti Quintet: Long Waves

The highly regarded Swiss trumpeter Franco Ambrosetti has been playing with jazz stars throughout his professional life. The earliest recording of his that I can find is from a 1963 concert with his father, saxophonist Flavio Ambrosetti, and the stellar rhythm section of Joe Zawinul, Sam Jones, and Louis Hayes. Long Waves, the latest release by the Franco Ambrosetti Quintet, finds the now 78-year old veteran leading another all-star ensemble with guitarist John Scofield, pianist Uri Caine, bassist Scott Colley, and drummer Jack DeJohnette. There’s a palpable warmth to this session, a feeling from the very start of Ambrosetti’s original composition Milonga that the listener is being invited to share in the good spirits and congenial atmosphere that the music delivers. Ambrosetti brought three other tunes to the date, the snappy Try Again, and two songs dedicated to his wife, Silli’s Long Wave, a mid-tempo groover with inspired soloing by Scofield and Caine, and the ultra-relaxed Silli’s Waltz. The winning program is rounded out by One For the Kids, a piece by pianist George Gruntz that Ambrosetti recorded previously on his 1997 Enja album Warm Breeze, and a pair of tunes that have long been popular with improvisers, Willard Robison’s 1938 composition Old Folks, played very slowly, and an extended look at Bronislaw Kaper’s On Green Dolphin Street, taken at a cheerful toe-tapping tempo with solos by all hands. As the ever-astute Bob Blumenthal writes in his liner notes, the “sincerity and affection” on display throughout the program made him “feel like part of the family.” He’s right on the mark, and spending the better part of an hour with Long Waves is practically guaranteed to make your day a little brighter. Warmly recommended.
Unit UTR 4907; Franco Ambrosetti (tpt, flgh) John Scofield (g) Uri Caine (p) Scott Colley (b) Jack DeJohnette (d); NYC, January 30-31, 2019; Milonga/ Try Again/ Silli’s Long Wave/ One For the Kids/ Old Folks/ Silli’s Waltz/ On Green Dolphin Street; 53:33. www.unitrecords.com