Some people like to play it straight and keep things simple. Not so the Italian saxophonist Daniele Cavallanti, who, to celebrate 60 years on earth and 42 years in the business, put together this semi-ironically named ensemble to perform at the 2012 Ah Um Jazz Festival in his native Milan, this two-disc live set being the adventurous fruit of that occasion. CD1 consists principally of a long suite (over half an hour), ‘Faces’, that takes its cue from a series of film directors: ‘Cassavetes’, ‘Bertolucci’ and ‘Eastwood’ are among the individual section titles. By way of hors d'oeuvre there's the 18-minute ‘Creative Mesa’, which initially sounds a bit like a splintered and inverted avant-garde take on Richard Strauss's Also Sprach Zarathustra. The sound is by turns full and fragmented; the falling apart – underscored by Emanuele Parrini's violin – is usually at least as much fun as the more concerted passages of play. CD2 meanwhile is rich in Ellingtonian inspirations, including takes on the Duke's ‘African Flower’ and ‘Things Ain't What They Used To Be’. Final number ‘Raphael's Walk’ concludes with a brief, woozy burst of ‘Happy Birthday To You’.