Daniele Tittarelli Quartet
Jungle Trane

I was asked to judge a very interesting work of an emerging band.
Usually, I don't review "on commission," but my doubts were dispelled by the quality of the work submitted to me, an impression drawn from the first listening.
Therefore, I thank "Daniele_er_Piccoletto" for the opportunity given to me.

This band is called "Daniele Tittarelli Quartet" and their work is named "Jungle Trane".
It might be excessive to define it as a band work; I prefer to see it as a solo work backed by excellent musicians. And perhaps it's wrong to define them as "emerging" because a certain maturity is already recognizable.
The leader of the band shows that he has thoroughly listened to the exponential author of the instrument he plays, my beloved Coltrane. In reality, we know that the type of sax used by Trane is the soprano, while on the sparse cover notes I received, I find the exclusive mention of alto sax for Tittarelli, but I don't exclude that some post-production touch-up (like line dubbing) might have been done with the soprano.
The voice of the sax, rather personal, is always very present, almost oppressive towards the other instruments, but the ensemble sounds quite fluid even if sometimes excessively unbalanced (in mixing volume) in the melodic search at the expense of the rhythmic instruments. The author's technique is decidedly good (even if in some small moments some ghost-notes can be glimpsed, I'm not sure how intentional), perhaps a bit too academic. A bit of courage in improvisation and experimentation wouldn't hurt.

In my modest opinion, some tweaks are missing in the recording phase, perhaps due to little experience. The band seems to me to be more comfortable in a purely "live" situation, but it's clear that my judgment can only be partial, as I don't know the previous activities of the musicians in question thoroughly.

The proposed atmosphere is often "serene", "happy", never dormant nor gloomy, much less distressing.

Rhythm section: solid, not secondary, perhaps deserving more space for the naturalness with which it engages in a very modern be-bop, which one feels like defining heavy-bop due to the aggressive way in which it is interpreted.
The bass-drums interplay is remarkable, and the leading musician of the band can freely engage in unforeseen diversions, exploiting the skills of the drummer and bassist. The fun does not lack for the piano.

Who writes to you, not being in possession of any official cover notes of the record, harbors some doubts about the authorship of the proposed songs. In particular, it is believed that "Bye Bye Blackbird" is a warm arrangement of the original composed by Ray Henderson and Mort Dixon (there is a majestic interpretation by Keith Jarrett) and that Royal Garden Blues (1920 Words & Music by Clarence & Spencer Williams) is another spirited interpretation of an old standard.
Honestly, I think (with the benefit of inventory) I'm not wrong in recognizing Tittarelli's merits for the creation of the ironic "Like Cafù" (Roman and supporter of AS Roma, right?) in which the ups and downs of the sax line aim to recall the incessant run of the Giallorossi fullback (I really like the piano in this song), and of "Avec", a tasty and slippery track in which the overlap between sax and piano of some melodic lines (particularly the intro) makes it particularly "spacious".

Overall, one cannot help but appreciate this work. Indeed more, one must pay homage to those who strive to engage with the mother of all music (jazz) in a country typically reluctant to the proper appreciation for this type of music.
I strongly criticize this work for the lack (unfortunately chronic among Italian jazz players) of brave experimentation, zest, that clear compositional and technical madness typical of the more experienced artists or those young but damnably endowed with talent almost supernaturally.

For the considerations reported, my judgment isn't very high also because for those who grew up with Parker, Coltrane, Davis, and Baker, it's tough to find notable associations, but this record will certainly please lovers of traditional jazz interpreted in a modern way.
If I had to define it with one word, I would settle on "a serene record".