The seven tunes here are quite familiar, including "Summertime" "Take the 'A' Train," and "When the Saints Go Marching In."

But with only two musicians, Giancarlo Mazzu on nylon-stringed guitar and Luciano Troja on piano, the songs on Seven Tales About Standards are done differently than you might remember. The players veer from the melody quite often. At times the sound is almost "free," as at the end of "My Funny Valentine," when Mazzu hits out the beat on his guitar.

The combination makes for somewhat of a jagged sound. Without any specific rhythm instruments, the two often play many notes to fill in the sound. Also the piano is the louder instrument, although Mazzu often hits strong chords.

Sometime the two play solo, but usually they weave in and out of each other's melody lines. Mazzu throws in a bit of ragtime or Spanish guitar now and then, but he never clashes with Troja's jazz stylings.

Despite having just two players, this CD is sometimes relaxed and sometimes fast paced. It is an interesting recording worth checking out.