You, And the Night and the Music

This straight-ahead guitar, bass, and trap drum trio is a delight in their understated pursuit of solid post-bop existentialism. Guitarist Sandro Gibellini has been nicknamed The Arpeggiator in Italy for his loose-wristed flying left hand, which tears chords apart for their melodic possibilities. Bassist Ares Tavolazzi is a deeply centered pizzicato player whose belief is that the heart of rhythm lies in extended harmonics and a lot of wood, while the fleet-handed Mauro Beggio practices his painterly brushwork with a flair that denotes his intuition that the trap kit is for dancing upon. The choice of cover material here — particularly the title track, Rodgers and Hart's "I Didn't Know What Time It Was," and Fats Waller's "Jitterbug Waltz" — is striking in that each of these tunes from the canon showcases a different aspect of the trio's ability to highlight both melody and sophisticated intervallic machinations simultaneously. Of the originals there's less of a variety in that they are full of pulsing blues and deft, hard-bopping swing. Most notable is the glorious deep-blue groove of "Alberto's Dilemma," which showcases the open-handed tight chording of Gibellini against a strong contrapuntal line from Tavolazzi and double timing by Beggio from the heart of the cut. This is a solid date, top to bottom, and pretty much a must-have for fans of jazz by guitar trios.