One L

It should have been just another memorable con­cert in the hectic life of the Geneva Chamber Orchestra. However, the global Covid-19 pandemic decided otherwise and turned this summit meeting with conductor Gábor Takács-Nagy and pianist Mikhaïl Pletnev into a historical moment. Chronicle of an extraordinary adventure…in every respect.

Once in a while, an album comes along to take your breath away. That is certainly the case with this boxed set, which contains no fewer than 25 CDs tracing the history of jazz piano from early 1899 to the end of 1958. Several years ago, the same record company issued a set ten CDs covering some of the same ground, but this expanded version is even more amazing.

L'infinito is the final installment of the trilogy that Le Orme began with Il Fiume. In terms of style, it closely mimics Elementi, including the Satriani style guitar early on and the sitar around the middle. In terms of quality, it's perhaps half a notch below Elementi, but still a pretty good album. Aldo Tagliapietra makes a thematic return to Indian spirituality, with tracks like "Shanti" and a roadsign on the cover with an OM symbol on it. Incidentally, the Paul Whitehead cover is again moderately clever, but this time more visually appealing to me…