Italian saxophonist Starace is a welcome presence on our local scene and perhaps best known for his boppish small groups. Here, in this duo format, he concentrates on what he calls his “work on melody and composing music with cinematic quality”. Five of the nine pieces are his, two are by pianist Di Toro and there's one apiece by Chick Corea and Randy Newman. The mood overall is elegiac and largely calm, with clever interplay between the alto and piano, as on Di Toro's ‘Jump for Joy’, with its almost baroque quality, the pianist embroidering the theme with his own kind of linear complexity, alto superimposed. Elsewhere it's Starace's lyrical soprano that stays uppermost, his control and tonal quality both fetching and pleasingly individual. In effect, what we have here is that old chestnut of ‘chamber jazz’, a series of intimate encounters between two like-minded players, pianist Di Toro a compelling performer, with a limpid touch, probing and prompting as a partner should. Is the improvisation whole-hearted enough to entice the Jazzwise reader? Well, for those who value understated artistry and melodic concentration with Starace's ‘The Court Jester’ among the livelier pieces on offer, the answer must be ‘yes’.