Garota de ipanema (ana silvia)

The second volume in a series of Antonio Carlos Jobim songbooks by Italian pianist Riccardo Arrighini concentrates more on some of the composer's most popular works. With bassist Amedeo Ronga and drummer Stefano Rapicavoli providing capable support, Arrighini dives head first into such frequently recorded hits, attempting to bring a fresh outlook to each of them. This is tougher than it seems, given the number of times most of his selections have been heard in a jazz setting. Ronga's bass vamp provides a change of pace introduction to "Wave," while Arrighini frees himself from the theme fairly quickly. "A Felicidade" benefits from a rather brisk setting with Rapicavoli providing aggressive percussion which rivals the leader's piano in the mix. The leader also surprises with his very deliberate approach to "Once I Loved." While it is nearly impossible to create groundbreaking charts of these popular Jobim songs, Riccardo Arrighini has made an excellent effort to keep them from being run-of-the-mill.