George Wallington
Live! at Cafe Bohemia

If Giacinto Figlia had stayed in Palermo (after being born there in 1924) instead of emigrating as an infant to America in 1925 with his family, being the son of an artist - his father was an opera singer - he probably would have embarked on an honest career as a pianist, even if he would not have certainly become George Wallington, a meteoric figure in the jazz firmament and historically counted among what is considered the first be bop group, formed in 1943 by a handful of musicians like Byas on tenor, Roach on drums, Pettiford on double bass, Gillespie on trumpet, and, indeed, Wallington on piano.

In this scarce decade of performances, before reappearing for a special appearance in Palermo in the '80s, and according to reports of the time, working in the family business, he would have the chance to compose a couple of superb bop classics like "Lemon Drop" and "Goldchild", just in time to remain in the game at least until the late '50s, and with this engaging "Live! at Cafe Bohemia" from September 1955 where he appears as leader supported by another fine group: McLean on alto, Chambers on double bass, Taylor on drums, and Byrd on trumpet. Wallington remained not just loyal, but exceedingly loyal to the Gospel of be bop, disregarding the evolving languages that began to influence it. Indeed, the evening opens with a fiery bop led off by McLean's chirping (we're at the turning point of Bird's myth) which does not have original roots in the movement, since it's an adaptation of "Johnny One Note", a song written by the acclaimed duo Rodgers & Hart for the musical "Babes in Arms".

But throughout the evening, there will also be ample opportunity to highlight both instrumental and compositional skills, elements that begin to manifest with "Sweet Blanche" penned by the Sicilian-American pianist, a composition with a classic bop harmonic scheme that flows smoothly until the subsequent run on "Minor March" by McLean: if Wallington is loyal to the Gospel, McLean's loyalty is even more shameless, and not by chance is the introduction to "Minor March" a close relative of that in "Be Bop" while Wallington leaves a seal of powellian memory.

With "Bohemia After Dark" by Oscar Pettiford and another handful of tracks from this edition, the curtain falls on this honest and all in all reassuring live performance, which has no other pretensions than to bear witness to the career of Giacinto Figlia from Palermo, who as George Wallington found himself, perhaps not coincidentally, in the right place at the right time during an epochal passage in the history of jazz, only to exit with discretion. And maybe this time, not coincidentally either.