ETNA

The third and final chapter of Italian prog's most restless shapeshifting band of the 70s concludes after two previous band names that produced an album under each moniker before changing things up once again. This is the story of a three cousins who formed a band called Flea On The Honey in Sicily and then relocated to Rome where they picked up bassist Elio Volpini and released an early psych prog album before shortening their name to Flea and going full on heavy prog with the 1972 album "Topi O Uomini." However before the band could move on to the jazz fusion metamorphosis of what would be named ETNA (after Sicily's famous volcano), Volpini would first depart the band to join L'Uovo di Colombo for a one album stint before that band quickly called it quits after receiving absolutely zero label support.

Despite Volpini leaving Flea didn't mean the band called it quits but rather the other members recruited Fabio Pignatelli of the Rome based group Le Rivelazioni. He stuck around for two tours and then himself jumped ship to start Cherry Five and later Goblin. After the failure of L'Uovo di Colombo to make a dent on the Italian prog scene Volpini rejoined his former Flea buddies and the band completely rechristened themselves as a jazz fusion band called ETNA leaving behind all traces of hard heavy psych prog that had been the band's signature sound up to this point. What a long way these guys had come from the somewhat amateurish Flea On The Honey album from 1971 to this extraordinarily versatile and crafty display of technical jazz fusion.

Taking a cue from bands like The Weather Report and Mahavishnu Orchestra, ETNA debuted in 1975 with its one and only self-titled album that found elements from Return To Forever, Soft Machine and fellow Italian bands like Arti & Mestieri scattered about only polished into its own baby. While not delivering a style of fusion that was substantially different from many other similarly minded bands of the era, ETNA did display a firm command of the style with an album that sounded as if it was crafted by seasoned pros in the fusion business for decades, no small feat for such a demanding musical style. With touches of progressive rock and Mediterranean folk seeping into the mix, ETNA delivered a more expressive style of fusion than most with rich emotive passages enriched with pastel atmospheric touches and a touch of Italian prog romanticism infused into the fabric of the heady musical roller coaster ride.

While all the aforementioned acts serve as a comparison guide, ETNA delivered a cooler version of fusion that was more energetic than the sleepy Weather Report but not as frenetically demented as Area nor as technically nerded out as Arti E Mistieri. ETNA crafted a more polished style that added standard prog elements as well as a hefty serving of jazz-funk in the vein of 70s Herbie Hancock. The band's ability to navigate the complexities of the genre while still maintaining a rather accessible connection was its strong point throughout the album's run of seven instrumental tracks. Touches of classical piano find their way into select moments such as on "Sentimental Lewdness" and a touch of medieval folk with a stellar mandolin performance by Carlos Pennisi on the closing "Barbarian Serenade."

After a tricky reincarnation act that spanned the life of three different band names and as many albums to match, the band ETNA would be the end of the line for this lineup of four talented musicians who would soon go their own way with drummer Agostino Marangolo joining Goblin and the others falling into relative obscurity as session musicians. After decades of falling off the radar Volpini revived these classic years in a new group called Flea On The Etna in 2017 which has served as a dedication to the music laid out on this group's three band metamorphosis. While i wouldn't call ETNA the pinnacle of 70s jazz fusion, the band certainly delivered a highly competent and utterly enjoyable album that was made all the warmer with a crystal clear production job and an admirable dedication to the musicality of a very demanding genre.