City Newspaper Archives - 2/2007
Stefano Bollani: "Piano Solo"
ECM
Published by Ron Netsky on Feb 15, 2007
With home-grown musicians like Joe Romano and Mike Melito, it's easy for Rochesterians to think of Italian jazz as a product of the American melting pot. But there's another vibrant source: Italy. Milan-born pianist Stefano Bollani rose to prominence as a sideman to trumpeter Enrico Rava, but his already blossoming solo career has taken off with the release of his new, wonderful album. A prodigy, Bollani enrolled at a conservatory in Florence when he was11. It's easy to detect his superb classical technique, especially when he improvises on a theme by Prokofiev. His originals are innovative, whether they are fully developed songs or one of four improvisations. Interpretations of standards like "For All We Know" and "On The Street Where You Live" are unfailingly fresh. And he throws listeners a few curves: a deliciously hyper take on Scott Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag" and a gorgeous version of Brian Wilson's "Don't Talk."
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