Hollis Avenue

"Italian pianist Antonio Ciacca's modern mainstream quartet session breathes dramatic fire and still contains the necessary dollop of lyrical charm. Thirty years old, favoring Thelonious Monk's compositional spontaneity, and aware of the need for balance in one's work, Ciacca leads two different quartets through several standards and a few originals. Young lions all, the artists dish out tributes to Monk, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn while applying fresh ideas throughout...His piano work, the product of a lifetime of devoted jazz study, shines brightly as a star in the sky, leading the way to a positive future for a young man who follows his dream. " -Jim Santella (All About Jazz)