Here is even more music from the {$Sonny Rollins} of {\Italian jazz}. This is perhaps an unfair tag to put on tenor saxophonist {$Stefano D'Anna}. The dub comes not from the fact that {$D'Anna} plays so much like {$Rollins} as much as it is his stature -- the manner in which he carries himself, solos, and leads a band. In this case it is guitarist {$Fabio Zeppetella}, bassist {$Pietro Ciancaglini}, and {$Roberto Gatto} on drums. The band plays a solid program of {$D'Anna} compositions that range from modern spires of {\post-bop} intelligence ({&"Coolwalk,"} {&"Coasting"}) to romantic balladry that is so sweet only a master could pull it off without sounding maudlin ({&"La Valse,"} {&"Elena"}), and {$D'Anna} and his band make these tracks drip with taste, elegance, aplomb, and mid-tempo {\blues}-outs that offer a deeper view into the inner workings of a quartet ({&"Carousel,"} {&"Seven Years,"} {&"Have a Nice Day"}). Particularly fascinating is the interplay between {$D'Anna} and {$Zeppetella}, who is a very strong and imaginative soloist in his own right. The two rarely square off, but continually mark each other's paces and inspire to new heights the melodic nuances of {$D'Anna}'s harmonic construction. The set closes with {&"Southern Comfort,"} an eerie {\ballad} of moody reserve and spatial intervals. It's a curious choice to close a recording in that it never really catches fire, but perhaps, sitting on the outer margins of his oeuvre, this is just what it's supposed to do, as guitar and saxophone trade long fours and the rhythm section just shimmies through the ever-changing meters. But it's a beautiful whisper, too -- one that is fragmented and silky at the same time. {$D'Anna}, though fully mature as a saxophonist, is still, like {$Sonny Rollins}, growing into his music and his sound. To be continued. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide