Bob Burnett: One of the takeaway memories for me of the Washington, DC area/eastern seaboard Snowmageddon of 2010 will be it gave me ample opportunity to listen to Enrico Rava's New York Days. Enrico Rava approaches the trumpet in a manner which I find most pleasing: as an atmospheric instrument that accents space, time and introspection within the format of a small ensemble. While Rava has had an accomplished career spanning many decades with people such as Steve Lacy, Don Cherry and Roswell Rudd (see full bio here on his webpage) I feel he's been at a particular high water mark over the last handful of years. (2005 "Tati" (ECM 1921), 2007 "The Words and The Days" (ECM 1982), 2007 Enrico Rava / Stefano Bollani "The Third Man" (ECM 2020) to offer a few examples) With that said I must add the crowning glory for me is New York Days due specifically to the open and loose compositional approach as well as the incredible group put together for this recording. In addition to Rava's trumpet and Rava protege Stefano Bollini's piano there's the always remarkable (and beyond description at this point) Paul Motian on drums, Larry Grenadier on bass and the beautifully understated sounds of Mark Turner on tenor sax. (note: Grenadier and Turner are also in the FLY trio) New York Days represents for me why ECM remains an important label to stay in touch with. ECM can be an exasperatingly "ECM-ish" experience at times but when albums like this are made it's worth it. I found a very nice write-up of this album that goes into much greater depth than I could ever do. For me, the pace, tone and floating beauty on display reflect the interplay I find important in music.
New York Days is available on www.lala.com so I suggest listening to it there to get a taste of what I'm talking about.
Thanks so much for your kind comment about my write-up on Enrico Rava's CD. For what it's worth, I think you did a mighty fine job describing it, yourself.
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