(Andrea Veneziani)

Oltreoceano is the wonderful self-produced recording debut of bassist Andrea Veneziani. The Italian-born, New York-based musician has a fantastic voice on the instrument and does terrific work as a composer make this a fantastic effort, but add the talents of the great Kenny Werner on piano and you have an even more special product. The trio has a nice chemistry that makes the compositions come alive. Most of the tracks on the package are by the bassist and his musical collaborators here, with a couple of nice renditions of tunes written by Bill Evans, Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk. Veneziani’s wonderful tone, along with the great selection of material makes this one really worth hearing.