Mario Rusca Trio

*2023 stock* "That this is the first release by the courageous pianist Mario Rusca, born in Turin in 1937, and thus not that young anymore, can only be explained (and not justified) by circumstances such as described above. But there’s more to it. Though I really strive to support Italian jazz and to discover new talents, often by going against the tide, I hadn’t yet heard the name of Mario Rusca three years ago. It was Joe Venuti who introduced me to him in the spring of 1971, while he was staying in Milan for some time. Venuti had arrived in Italy together with pianist Lou Stein, and he didn’t have any difficulties in finding good double-bass players and drummers to play with him. A problem aroused though when Stein decided to go back to the States alone. The search for a new pianist proved to be more difficult, but the old violinist finally spotted a shy and reserved person, who at the time was playing at the Capolinea every night, a club which can be found in an outlying district of Milan. That was Mario Rusca." - Franco Fayenz