Dave Restivo - Arancina

David Restivo is one of Canada’s most respected and influential jazz artists. He is a 3-time winner of the National Jazz Awards’ Pianist of the Year Award, and is listed in the current edition of Canadian Who’s Who. He is well known for his work with Rob McConnell’s Boss Brass and Tentet, the Mike Murley Quintet, and legendary songwriter Marc Jordan. With Arancina, his third album as a leader, Restivo has further solidified his reputation as one of Canada’s top pianists, composers, and bandleaders.

Spanning a lifetime of travels and tribulations, this album explores the transitivity of home in all its forms. With each track, Restivo illustrates his journey through a diverse landscape of food, language, and culture, all the while discovering how these elements have come together to form his own sense of self. As expertly crafted as they are distinct, these works will have you flying over the Northumberland Strait one minute and dancing through the streets of Sicily the next.

Train to Catania pulls us in with soothing, rolling harmonies that blend together as seamlessly as pastels on a canvas. Down the tracks we go, through the spicy streets of Palermo and on to a moonlit Modica, rich with colors that lull the ear into a hypnotic tranquility. We awake to the long-awaited taste of Arancina, a treat lush with joyful flavors. The sly modulations and energetic drive of Raven’s Wing take us in a refreshingly new direction, and are balanced out by a wandering, sultry take on Coltrane’s Giant Steps. Fawn Fritzen’s vocals lend a ray of sunshine to Bittersweet Goodbye, and the album closes with a reassuringly upbeat and sizzling  finale, alive with the electricity of Bebop.