Transit Portrait of a Trio Splasc(h) Records (Italy) 1990 H 202 (LP) sleeve : NM media : EX+/EX+(some slgihtly noise)
Released in 1990, this album is by Transit, an Italian trio consisting of Marcello Noia on soprano and tenor saxophones, Luca Garlaschelli on bass, and Valerio Luraghi on drums. It was issued on Splasc(h), the label that helped drive the Italian new jazz scene from the mid-1980s onward. Aside from A1, a cover of a Thelonious Monk classic, and B2, which takes up a piece by Roland Kirk, the album is made up entirely of original compositions, and these are truly excellent. While carrying forward the main current of hard bop and post-bop, the music is imbued with a distinctive atmosphere all its own. Especially wonderful are A2, composed by Garlaschelli, where melodies reminiscent of Sicilian folk music unfold impressively over a minimal bass line that also brings Dollar Brand to mind, and B1, with its soft, nostalgic soprano saxophone melody and the beautifully resonant, flexible sound of the bass strings. Highly recommended.
A2: Domus De Janas
B1: Your Eyes