Cam Jazz only recently reissued the splendid double-CD Play Morricone set by Enrico Pieranunzi with Marc Johnson and Joey Baron, which explored the film scores of the great Italian composer, named in the title. Now comes this hardly less lushly entertaining and enterprising collection of originals, recorded by the Roman pianist with bassist Scott Colley and drummer Antonio Sanchez. The title is appropriate, as the leader and principal writer has a magnificent gift for lyrical invention that readily suggests narrative progressions. There's plenty of fine, on-the-off ideas going on here, but the storytelling structures are carefully drawn in: the disc offers a masterclass in achieving that all-important composition/improvisation balance. The opening trio of tracks, all penned by Pieranunzi, gets things off to a bright, breezy start before Colley's ballad ‘The Slow Gene’ slows the tempo. ‘Which Way Is Up’ then finds the group at the more frenzied, experimental end of their playing spectrum before a final trio of numbers, beginning with ‘Where Stories Are’, explores gentler moods and modes. It's a fine way to enjoy a Roman holiday without leaving your seat.