François Houle / Nick Fraser / Alessandro Fedrigo / Nicola Fazzini

By Ken Waxman

Perhaps reflecting the breezy looseness of Vancouver, the city in which it was recorded, the sounds created on Vortex by the ITACA quartet, move with lightness and ebullience of cool West Coast jazz. But despite some near-hummable melodies, jagged sonic shoals lurk beneath calm surfaces as reefs do beside the shores of maritime countries.

Together since 2016, ITACA 4ET consists of Canadians, clarinetist François Houle and drummer Nick Fraser plus Italians, bass guitarist Alessandro Fedrigo and alto saxophonist Nicola Fazzini. Yet because of the intimate way in which the rhythm section jointly propels the selections and how the reedists complement and spell one another there’s no sense of offshore fissure.

Often introduced with languid mid-range flutters from Houle, the tunes are propelled by Fazzini’s clarion peeps beside or in contrast with clarinet lines. Meanwhile churning power from cymbals and drums plus bass guitar pulsations provides the foundation on which improvisations are launched. Traditional in that many tracks end with recapping the head, ITACA is assured enough to allow for technical extensions such as whiny altissimo squeals from both reeds on “The Third Murder”; sharp clarinet squeaks challenging percussion slaps on “Saturno”; and tremolo reed synthesis shattered by rugged percussion pumps on “Chorale”.

Fedrigo demonstrates his versatility when he sets up a funk groove on the final “Nette”. Consisting of tough rhythms, fluid airiness, detours into extended technique and a melody reprise, the track confirms the band members’ collective talent and the defining sound blend they bring to the entire set.

–For MusicWorks Autumn 2020