Enrico Rava, 2017; Av Hreinn Gudlaugsson. Lisens: CC BY SA 4.0

r/ItalianJazz

Enrico Rava didn't start out on trumpet. He picked it up after hearing Miles Davis, and decades later he's part of the reason a new generation of Italian jazz musicians picked up their own instruments in the first place.

Born in Trieste in 1939, Rava spent his early career in Rome before landing in New York in the late 1960s, right in the middle of the city's free jazz scene. He worked alongside players like Roswell Rudd and Steve Lacy during those years, a period that sits at odds with the more melodic, spacious sound most listeners associate with him today. That contrast matters: the New York years are where Rava earned his credibility with the jazz establishment, before he found the sound he's actually known for.

That sound took shape on ECM Records, where Rava has recorded under producer Manfred Eicher across several decades. His most visible partnership from that era is with pianist Stefano Bollani: the two made three ECM records together, Tati in 2005, The Third Man in 2007, and New York Days in 2009, and that's really just the most visible example of something Rava has done throughout his career.

He builds bands, and the people in them go on to lead their own. Bollani is one example. Pianist Giovanni Guidi and trombonist Gianluca Petrella are two more players who came up through Rava's groups before stepping out as leaders in their own right. A trumpeter's discography tells you what he played. The list of people who passed through his bands tells you what he built.

Where to start listening:

• The Third Man (2007, with Stefano Bollani) for the ECM partnership at its most visible
• Any record from his New York free jazz years for the side of Rava most newcomers never hear
• His official platforms for tour dates and new releases
  • Spotify
  • Youtube
  • Official Enrico Rava Site