Stefano Rocco Quartet - Wildlife (2025) Hi-Res

Stefano Rocco’s WILDLIFE is immersed in the animal kingdom, from the track titles to the CD cover art. The concept suggests whimsy, and there’s a little of that, but the music takes a more thoughtful path, full of subtle shifts and unexpected turns. The Italian-born, Sydney-based guitarist and composer uses modern jazz as his lens, blending Latin influences and post-bop grooves into something that feels alive and quietly exploratory. This isn’t nature-documentary background music—it’s a serious musical statement that happens to roam through the wild.

Rocco’s quartet—Nick Southcott on piano, Muhamed Mehmedbasic on bass, and Ed Rodrigues on drums—has been with him since 2019, and their chemistry is unmistakable. They listen, they leave space, and they move as one. Their playing has the kind of cohesion that feels like a conversation, with rhythms that ripple and melodies that stretch naturally.

The title track, ‘Wildlife,’ opens the set in triple meter, swaying gently before snapping into a hard-driving 4/4 groove. When that groove hits, Rocco taps into something more old-school—there’s a grit and clarity to his lines that call to mind Wes Montgomery or even Grant Green. Southcott’s melodic piano arpeggios flirt with rock phrasing. It’s a fitting doorway into the sounds that follow.

‘Cat Walk’ shifts gears into a slick, latin, funk vibe—think George Benson’s ‘Breezin.’ Rocco’s guitar work here leans into the blues, but with a feather-light touch, Southcott has a lyrical touch, tossing off phrases that land somewhere between elegance and mischief.

‘Coral Reef’ is where things get looser and more adventurous. The groove is elusive, shifting in and out of tempo, and Rocco pairs his single-note runs with quick, glissando-like strums—sweeping his pick across multiple strings to create a shimmering, harp-like effect that adds movement and texture to the line.