Enrico Rava – Italy’s Greatest Jazz Musician
Enrico Rava is Italy’s greatest jazz musician and one of the outstanding figures on the European jazz scene for the last five decades. He has an immediately recognisable sound and approach whether playing trumpet or flugelhorn. His use of space is crucial, giving maximum impact to each expressive nuance in what he plays. He is a master, capable of fire and lyricism, abandon and control.
“Just because the veteran trumpeter sounds dreamy doesn’t mean he’s not daring. Rava is skilled at conflating those seemingly separate approaches and creates some poetic schisms. A pointed flash of notes might careen from a hazy ballad; a post-bop blazer might pull over for a valuable day dream.” – The Village Voice
Rava was inspired to play trumpet after hearing Miles Davis as an 18-year old. He began to attract attention in the mid 1960s, when he played alongside such notable visitors as Gato Barbieri and Steve Lacy. He then spent several years in New York, working with such artists as Carla Bley, Roswell Rudd, Paul Motian and Lee Konitz.
Check out Enrico Rava’s Sound:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kVsPCOSK2E]
Based in Italy since the mid ’70s, Enrico has often played alongside leading artists from other countries; leading his own bands; and always setting a very high standard for his countrymen to emulate. He has performed alongside Gil Evans, Cecil Taylor, Joe Henderson, John Abercrombie, Ran Blake, Pat Metheny, Martial Solal, Richard Galliano, Dave Douglas, Paolo Fresu……the list could go on. He has released over 50 albums as leader (including the 1975 ECM classic, The Pilgrim And The Stars, and the 1995 set based on Bizet’s opera, Carmen).
International recognitions of Enrico’s artistry have included being named Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture in 2002, and the prestigious JazzPar prize in Copenhagen in 2001.
Enrico Rava’s Tribe was voted third in the world in the Downbeat 2012 Critics Poll.
“It is Rava’s ravishing lyricism, his pure, burnished tone infused with both warmth and a hint of human vulnerability, that makes this consistently absorbing, musically album so special.” – London Jazz News
Tickets: Concession $25, General Admission $55.90
Where: The Basement
When: 7:00pm, Mon 3rd November, 2014