Gianluigi Trovesi, a mere 67, is increasingly acknowledged as one of the great contemporary clarinet soloists in jazz and related music, and his melodic inventiveness is much in evidence on the present disc, virtuosity imbued with an almost nonchalant charm. A simple pleasure in music making shines through layers of irony in the compositions of Trovesi/Coscia and their dedicatee. As Ivan Hewitt, reviewing the duo in the Daily Telegraph wrote: “There’s an innocence about Trovesi which, despite the vast gulf of time and place reminds one of jazz’s innocent beginnings a century ago.”

The old friends from Nembro and Alessandria are enjoying a higher profile lately: it can’t be said that wider recognition is coming too early to them. Gianni Coscia celebrated his 80th birthday this year. On “Frère Jacques” his accordion is as spry as ever, always ready to challenge Trovesi, and to create, on the fly, shifting associative soundscapes that can cast the clarinet in new light, transforming settings from jazz club to cabaret to concert hall.