At 12 Points we’re familiar with precocious talent, and at just 22, Enrico Zanisi more than fits the bill. Like many jazz pianists who bloom in the spring of their careers, a childhood devoted to the classical canon has imbued him with a lyrical and delicate touch. Recently voted ‘Best Jazz Talent’ in Italy, and with a debut album Life Variations on the prestigious CAMjazz label, he’s already fluent in the Italian jazz traditions, with its emphasis on romanticism and groove. Poetic and reflective in his ballads, buoyant and discursive when the tempo goes up, this is a pianist with an empathy for the trio, evocative of totems like Keith Jarrett and John Taylor, especially when he turns to the old standards. In bassist Joe Rehmer and drummer Alessandro Paternesi, he’s found players of equal refinement, alert to all the possibilities of shape, time and texture when three are thinking as one.

Presented in association with Istituto Italiano di Cultura-Dublino.