Italian trumpeter, flugelhornist and much more besides Paolo Fresu isn't as well known in the English-speaking lands as he ought to be. And that's not because he's some Giovanni-come-lately, as the title of his quintet's latest disc, ¡30!, suggests: it's the band's 30th-anniversary recording. And you can feel the ensemble's depth of shared musical experience in every well-honed phrase and flourish. Twelve of the 13 tracks are originals, with writing contributions from all five members. It's mellifluously boppish fare, richly evocative of la dolce vita – there are lovely interwoven lines from Fresu and Tino Tracanna on ‘Scuro’. ‘Gufo’ throbs menacingly and casts occasional noirish shadows thanks to the keyboard work of Roberto Cipelli and some Miles-ish blowing from Fresu – in fact, it could almost be 1980s Miles. The non-original is Henry Purcell's great operatic lament from Dido and Aeneas, ‘When I Am Laid in Earth’ (rather nonsensically titled ‘When I Am Laid in Heart’ on the sleeve here). The version is a little too lugubrious and lacking in emotional spikes for my tastes. The funky workout of ‘Go Go B.’ that follows it is a much better fit for the players' talents. The second release from Fresu, this time accompanied not by his quintet but rather by bandeonist Daniele di Bonaventura and the orchestral forces of I Virtuosi Italiani, is a soundtrack disc. The film in question is by Ferdinando Vicentini Orgnani – Vinodentro means ‘Wine Inside’ and the storyline is described as ‘the myth of Faust meets the wine world’ (‘Can a normal guy lose his soul because of a secret passion which is guided by smell, tastes and flavours…?’ – I guess you need to see the movie to answer that). It's largely composed by Fresu – except for two bits of Mozart performed by the orchestra – and allows the trumpet and flugelhorn maestro to combine evocatively with di Bonaventura's bandoneon. Charmingly inessential.