Ltc
A Different View

LTC is nothing more than the acronym for the surname-based jazz trio composed of Pietro Lussu (piano), Lorenzo Tucci (drums) and Pietro Ciancaglini (double bass), a balanced and elegant Italian ensemble that has reached its enjoyable second release on long play, released in the early stages of the previous year by the Scandinavian Ricky-Tick Records (Five Corners Quintet, does that ring a bell?).

Although the title of the work just presented may not precisely reflect the musical content that characterizes its musical-somatic traits, it is worth pleasantly acknowledging the substantial executive quality and the extent to which the three advocate within the ten diverse movements that constitute its agile yet assured framework.

The work is evenly developed between pleasant and excellently interpreted reinterpretations and formally impeccable, perfectly executed, original compositions; the framework undoubtedly draws generously from what has long been widely known in the spheres of swing, groove, and similar-bossanova over the past four decades, with a particular preference for increasingly soft and expansive atmospheres: structurally standard in their own jazz evolutions.

Depending on one's personal perspective, this could appear as an enjoyable virtue and/or an unpleasant flaw: the absolute, although not entirely slavish, adherence to the aforementioned canons without perceptible need for significant variations on the theme; there is no doubt that those seeking the thrill of the unexpected turn or the unusual solution will have to turn their auditory attention to different jazz shores; in the face of such a work, as often happens, the arduous question arises: a smoothly eavesdroppable work or a sterile rehash of well-tested, accustomed standards?

As far as I'm concerned, I found the graceful entertaining frameworks developed within several of the pieces presented to be concretely appreciable, starting from the pleasantly colorful opening "Just Give Me Time", passing through the piano evolution intertwined within the segment that lends its title to the entire work ("A Different View") and arriving at the robust bass sobs inherent in the Latin-flavored "Shibuya Crossing": then each one, as usual, should judge for themselves.