Recommended: Emanuele Tondo – “Sguardo a Sud-Est”

 

emanuele-tondo-sguardo-a-sud-estThe old-school tracks, of which includes covers of “I’ll Be Seeing You” and “My Ideal,” are fine and nice and they swing and bop and are plenty lively and vibrant and show that Emanuele Tondo doesn’t only look at the road ahead, but is aware of the jazz lineage that preceded him on piano.  But it’s the original pieces of Sguardo a Sud-Est, belonging to the modern day, that resonate strongest.  These tunes get into the thick of the melody, and when they inevitably take on a contemplative nature, they display the same vibrancy as their swinging counterparts.

It’s when the quartet slides into cruising speed that the music really shows how its blood runs, though when Beatrice Milanese sits in for a vocal guest spot on the ballad “Alfonsina,” the nice and easy pace lets the band spin some moonlight, and it shows that the heart of this quartet beats strong at more than one rate.

Really easy to fall for this one.

Your album personnel:  Emanuele Tondo (piano), Francesco Geminiani (tenor sax), Luca Pisani (double bass), Massimo Chiarella (drums) and guest: Beatrice Milanese (vocals).

Released on Dodicilune Records.

Jazz from the Monza, Italy scene.

Available at:  Amazon