Reviews

Enrico Pieranunzi offers a personal perspective on Morricone, having played on original soundtrack recordings of the composer's work.
Jon Andrews, Downbeat, February 2006
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Pieranunzi is a major discovery as both a pianist and arranger, and the scores of Rota and Morricone are a vast, fertile, virgin territory for jazz improvisers..
Jazz Times, February 2006
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"Play Morricone" was a 2003 highlight - an intimate, inventive, improvisatory trio take on one of cinema's great composers “Play Morricone 2” is just as good & is a true sequel – new recordings, not “leftovers”. The trio is an Italian-American alliance led by Enrico Pieranunzi. As a studio musician in the 1970s & '80s, he played on dozens of Ennio Morricone's soundtracks. Now recognized as one of jazz's great pianist-arrangers, Pieranunzi has for two decades enjoyed a very rewarding occasional alliance with acoustic bassist Marc Johnson & drummer Joey Baron. Here, two suitably “cinematic” Pieranunzi originals, join eight elaborations on Morricone’s music. The five-times nominated Morricone has never won an Oscar. As we observed last year, it makes one wonder.. or does it?

Morricone’s music is good, not bad, never ugly - & "spaghetti westerns" were a small amount of his work! The man himself loved the Pieranunzi trio’s “Play Morricone". He declared himself, “Surprised! Very surprised on first impact when I listened to the beautiful elaborations of the dear and esteemed friend Enrico Pieranunzi, of Marc Johnson, and of Joey Baron. Surprised, in admiration, euphoric for the positive performances where the original pieces, rediscovered and respected, have a new physiognomy, and the jazz interpretation of the three great soloists doesn't destroy the pieces but values them."
Doug Spencer, The Planet