Emanuele Basentini & Carlo Atti
The Best Thing For You

Made in Italy: how many times do we hear that blessed Made in Italy being brought up? Mixed with our pronounced Italian pride - which always emerges in front of foreigners. Even the most staunch Italian-skeptics flaunt it at the right moment. No doubt about it... - an essential weapon in order to make up for the atrocities that have dominated our boot-shaped country for ages. Are you mafiosi? We have Ferrari. Dwarves and dancers in the Government? We have high fashion designers. Commonplaces that chase each other with some small truths in a game of parochialism among ordinary people which adds to the folklore. Well, I don't care about Ferrari, and even less about wearing a Gucci or Armani signature piece. Here: if I were talking to a foreign Jazz enthusiast, I wouldn't bring up Bollani - also because he's already won over quite a few people in all four corners of the globe - or a Cafiso, who has someone like Marsalis behind him; in this case, I would feel proud to pull out from my tricolored hat these two. Carlo Atti and Emanuele Basentini.

Carlo Atti is a sly fox on the tenor sax. A fierce Bopper. He belongs to the Bolognese generation of another incredible saxophonist, namely Piero Odorici. Friendship and Jazz, a combination that has led the two since the late '80s to forge themselves through nights in the historic clubs of Italian Jazz. From Capolinea in Milan to Alexanderplatz in Rome. On the other hand, Basentini presents some impressive credentials: an Urbani Prize under his belt, a remarkable revelation on his path, namely Pat Metheny; and the grand finale dedicated to experiences with Renzo Arbore, someone who has long focused on Made in Italy Jazz. "The Best Thing For You" places Atti and Basentini in a perfect dimension. Cohesion, high class, groove, swing, all in a harmonious and vibrant atmosphere. Basentini's guitar is brilliant, with an old-time flavor. Retro phrasing, a mocking taste. Atti's Sax is thunderous, seasoned, aggressive. The two blend perfectly, showcasing an almost perfect understanding. The repertoire is delightful. The notes of a beautiful and swinging "The Best Thing For You (Is Me)" by Berlin open the album; in which the two's relentless Hard Bop onslaughts give no respite. A homogeneous album: from the exotic "Asiatic Rays" (featured in two versions) by Rollins, to the wonderful ballad "There's No You", where a romantic sax like Atti's and an open organ with a lounge flavor like that of Pietro Lussu, offer a slow dance to savor. A very successful album also thanks to people who have earned a reputation in the Jazz world: from the aforementioned Lussu to Lorenzo Tucci on drums. I consciously venture to say, but remain firm in the idea that this is one of the best Italian Jazz albums, and not just from recent years.

Remember Tony Brando's painting in "Compagni di Scuola" that saved his evenings, as it was a great conversation starter? Okay, this album will captivate any of your Jazz-loving interlocutors; and it won't turn out to be a dud like the painting Brando tried to palm off on Finocchiaro. Ponder, folks, ponder...