Traversata: Italian Music in America – Best Italian Music Albums & Songs for Concerts, Parties & Relaxation

Amazon.com With each recent release, mandolin maestro David Grisman explores a hidden corner of the music world's dusty attic. On Traversata, he showcases the seldom-heard music of early 20th-century Italian immigrants in America. It's an eclectic mix of jazz tunes, folk ballads, opera aria transcriptions, serenades, and dance tunes. With fellow mandolin player Carlo Aonzo and bluegrass guitarist Beppe Gambetta (here playing a custom-made 14-string harp guitar), Grisman displays typically faultless technique as he performs instrumentals from forgotten Italian composers Pasquale Taraffo, Attilio Margutti, and Raffaele Calace, along with more familiar tunes from jazz pioneers Nick Lucas and Eddie Lang. Nino Rota's "The Godfather Waltz" earns its best performance yet, and two compositions by Rudy Cipolla, the late San Francisco-based music pioneer who Grisman has long championed, are included. The Italian influence varies from cut to cut, but these tunes are all intensely lyrical and full of gorgeous melodies and great playing; it's easily one of Grisman's most poignant projects to date. This Dawg may continue to wander the globe for new tunes, but he's certainly not lost. --Jason Verlinde