Arancina by David Restivo

Spanning a lifetime of travels and tribulations, this album explores the transitivity of home in all its forms. With each track, Restivo illustrates his journey through a diverse landscape of food, language, and culture, all the while discovering how these elements have come together to form his own sense of self. As expertly crafted as they are distinct, these works will have you flying over the Northumberland Strait one minute and dancing through the streets of Sicily the next.

“Train to Catania” pulls us in with soothing, rolling harmonies that blend together as seamlessly as pastels on a canvas. Down the tracks we go, through the spicy streets of Palermo and on to a moonlit Modica, rich with colours that lull the ear into a hypnotic tranquillity. We awake to the long-awaited taste of “Arancina”, a treat lush with joyful flavours. The sly modulations and energetic drive of “Raven’s Wing” take us in a refreshingly new direction, and are balanced out by a wandering, sultry take on Coltrane’s “Giant Steps”. Fawn Fritzen’s vocals lend a ray of sunshine to “Bittersweet Goodbye”, and the album closes with a reassuringly upbeat and sizzling finale, alive with the electricity of Bebop.