Pianist JOHN COLIANNI has a nicely swinging and original sound going on I Never Knew (Patuxent – 309). He leads a sextet with tenor saxophonists John David Simon and Grant Stewart, guitarist Matt Chertkoff, bassist Ralph Hamperian and drummer Bernard Linnette. You do not often hear selections by Beethoven and Thelonious Monk on the same album, but Colianni has chosen an eclectic mix of tunes that includes an adaptation of Beethoven’s “Für Elise,” “I Never Knew,” “I Didn’t Know About You,” “Achtung” by Illinois Jacquet, and Monk’s “Little Rootie Tootie, plus two originals by Colianni, “Blues for Naomi” and “Sunset in Santa Fe,” and one by John David Simon, “See Saw.” Simon and Stewart carries on a jazz tradition, a two tenor front line, and they do so with exciting results. Colianni’s charts open lots of blowing room for all the players, and he takes his solo moments to demonstrate why his pianism is so widely admired. Fun musc is a good description of what you will find on I Never Knew. (www.pxrec.com)
-Joe Lang, Jersey Jazz Journal