Enrico Rava

Enrico Rava
Enrico Rava in 2005
Background information
Born	(1939-08-20) 20 August 1939 (age 73)
Genres	Jazz
Instruments	Trumpet
Years active	1960s–present
Labels	ECM, Duck, Label Bleu, others
Website	EnricoRava.com

Enrico Rava (born 20 August 1939 in Trieste, Italy), is a prolific jazz trumpeter and arguably one of the best known Italian jazz musicians. He originally played trombone, changing to the trumpet after hearing Miles Davis. His first commercial work was as a member of Gato Barbieri's Italian quintet in the mid-1960s; in the late 1960s he was a member of Steve Lacy's group. In 1967 Rava moved to New York City, and one month later became a member of the group Gas Mask, a group that had one LP on Tonsil Records in 1970. He has played with artists such as Carla Bley, Jeanne Lee, Paul Motian, Lee Konitz and Roswell Rudd. Chiefly an exponent of bebop jazz, Enrico Rava has also played successfully in avant-garde settings. His style may partly recall Kenny Wheeler's in its spareness and lightness of tone, albeit Rava's is harmonically simpler.

In the 1970s and 1980s he worked with Pat Metheny, Michel Petrucciani, John Abercrombie, Joe Henderson, Richard Galliano, Miroslav Vitouš, Andrea Centazzo, Joe Lovano, Gil Evans and Cecil Taylor.

With trumpeter Paolo Fresu, Rava recorded a series of four CDs on the influence of Bix Beiderbecke, Louis Armstrong, Chet Baker, and Miles Davis (Bix, Pop, Shades of Chet, Play Miles Davis). Also of note are his recordings Rava, L'Opera Va' and Carmen; his own interpretations of operatic arias and overtures. In 2001, he founded a new quintet with pianist Stefano Bollani, and toured with Gato Barbieri and Aldo Romano. In the trio Europeans he is working with German bass-player Eberhard Weber and Swiss percussionist Reto Weber.

Discography [edit]

As leader [edit]

• Il Giro Del Giorno in 80 Mondi (Black Saint, 1972)
• Quotation Marks. JAPO. 1973. 
• Katcharpari (MPS/BASF, 1973)^[1]
• The Pilgrim and the Stars (ECM, 1975)
• The Plot (ECM, 1976)
• Enrico Rava Quartet (ECM, 1978)
• <<Ah>>. ECM. 1979. 
• Opening Night. ECM. 1981. 
• Andanada. Soul Note. 1983. 
• String Band. Soul Note. 1984. 
• Nexus Meets Enrico Rava. Four Leaf Clover. 1985. 
• Secrets. Soul Note. 1986. 
• Volver (ECM, 1986) with Dino Saluzzi
• Animals. Inak. 1987. 
• Nausicaa. EGEA. 1993.  w/ Enrico Pieranunzi
• Rava, L'Opera Va. Blue. 1993. 
• For Bix and Pops. Philology. 1994. 
• Electric Five. Soul Note. 1994.  w/ Gianluigi Trovesi
• Italian Ballads. Music Masters. 1996.  w/ Richard Galliano
• Noir. JMS. 1997. 
• Carmen. Label Bleu. 1997. 
• Certi Angoli Segreti. Label Bleu. 1998. 
• Shades of Chet. Via Veneto Jazz. 1999. 
• Rava Plays Rava. Philology. 1999. 
• Live at Birdland Neuberg. Challenge Records. 2000. 
• Duo en Noir. Between the Lines. 2000.  w/ Ran Blake
• Beyond Fellini. WEA/Warner. 2002. 
• Renaissance. Venus Records. 2003. 
• Happiness Is.... Stunt Records. 2003. 
• Full of Life. CamJazz. 2003. 
• Easy Living (ECM, 2003)
• Montreal Diary/A: Plays Miles Davis. Label Bleu. 2004. 
• Montréal Diary/B. Label Bleu. 2004.  w/ Stefano Bollani
• Tati (ECM, 2004)
• Chanson. Duck Records. 2006. 
• What a Day. Duck Records. 2006. 
• Quatre. Duck Records. 2006. 
• The Words and the Days (ECM, 2007)
• The Third Man (ECM, 2007)
• Live at JazzBo '90. Philology. 2007. 
• New York Days(ECM, 2009)
• Tribe (ECM, 2010)
• On the Dance Floor (ECM, 2012) — live recording of Michael Jackson covers

As sideman [edit]

This section requires expansion. (July 2011)

With Steve Lacy

• Sortie (GTA, 1966)
• The Forest and the Zoo (ESP-Disk, 1967)

With Carla Bley

• Escalator over the Hill (JCOA Records, 1971)

With Jimmy Lyons

• Give It Up (Black Saint, 1985)

With Archie Shepp

• Little Red Moon (Soul Note, 1985)

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• EnricoRava.com, official web site
• Discography
• Review of The Words and the Days at JazzChicago.net