idlero Another hit (critics and public) for ACT label who brought us EST.Are they the new EST? Only time will tell, IMO their debut is better that EST's debut and they managed to release a sophomore album which doesn't fall from the debut. The Alboran Trio takes its name from the narrow stretch of water which connects Europe and Africa around the Straits of Gibraltar, long a conduit of cultural exchange. Pianist and composer Paolo Paliaga, who formed the group with fellow Italians Dino Contenti (bass) and Gigi Biolcati (drums) in '03 was born in 1961in Varese, studied in Milan, played in bop and hard-bop bands in the 1980s, then worked in both France and Spain; he worked with various groups and played extensively on the European club and festival circuit before froming the Alboran Trio . Meltemi is an acoustic piano trio recording in which piano and bass are equal partners in the front line in most of the tracks. Rhythmically subtle and various, there are moments of straight jazz swing, there are passages of flamenco-inspired energy and there are African and Balkanic inflections here and there . All tracks are original compositions by the pianist Paolo Paliaga(excepting Pinnochio's theme), and arranged by the trio. The result is music which is fresh, complex and full of nuance, music that comes from a jazz background yet moves freely between Europe and Africa. Paraphrasing one of JMA's collaborators ,if jazz is alien in Italy, this is a rewarding 'encounter of the third kind'