The Claudio Scolari Project raises the stakes for ‘Opera 8,’ an especially adventurous effort from a band for which adventure is their calling card.

The Claudio Scolari Project’s ‘Intermission’ is a collective leap of faith, and these guys positively thrive in it.

‘Don’t Know’ is the Claudio Scolari Project’s third album in as many years, as the improvisational, familial quartet continues a roll that they don’t seem to want to slow down.

As is always the case on a Claudio Scolari Project album, the looseness in their approach on ‘Cosmology’ guarantees a freshness and fluidity in the music that refuses to be stifled by rigid structures.

Using high-level musicianship and a great sense of harmony and rhythm to carry out one instantaneous idea after another is the trademark of Claudio Scolari Project.

Like Claudio Scolari and Daniele Cavalca’s prior projects, you could call ‘Natural Impulse’ “jazz” for a number of reasons but in the end it just sounds like two (sometimes three) guys following their instincts to make music that’s both unpredictable and inviting. And they have only gotten better at doing that.

<<< Part Three, Whack Jazz In the final piece of these exhaustive, four-part salutes to the top releases of 2012, the fusion jazz records are surveyed. You May Also Like: S. Victor Aaron’s Best of 2015 (Part 4 of 4, Fusion Jazz): John McLaughlin, Chris Potter, Donny McCaslin, Jeff LorberRead More