...DI TERRA

Why this one is not more often mentioned when it comes to the perfect prog/classical mix? I discovered Di Terra on vinyl twenty-five years ago, then had my cd version around the turn of the century, and yet it kept the same appeal. Symphonic for sure, jazzy at time with the piano licks of the Nocenzi's and a trumpet for good measure, always melodic and elegant even in the few dissonant passages, this all instrumental album allows each piece to take its flight, from quiet to energetic, bridging most of them altogether. Main classical influences go from Ravel to the russian composers of tne twentieth century but, as rock idiom is concerned, totally original. Far less derivative than Renaissance magnum opus "Scheherazade..." and less pretentious than any Emerson Lake and Palmer, this remains for me the ultimate one in that domain. For that, nothing less than the high five!