Marcello Benetti is a busy individual, whether he’s working on his own compositions, playing with New Orleans’ finest, or even co-producing his own music festival, Benetti still finds the time to release Il Vizio! Released March 4, Il Vizio! or “the vice” is comprised of compositions in which Benetti tailored for his “family of musicians” whom he’s worked with in the past in addition to Il Vizio!

Benetti employs the help of Trapper Keeper collaborator, Will Thomson (keys), Jeff Albert (trombone), Rex Gregory (clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, tenor sax), Helen Gillet (cello), Dave Easley (steel guitar), and Mike Dillon (vibraphone, tablas, congas). Il Vizio! is comprised of seven tracks, each of which feels like its own journey as Benetti has merged the sound of  the “electric-psychedelic” improvised sound of Trapper Keaper with the more composition-heavy influence of Benetti’s 2012 project Shuffled, a quartet comprised of some familiar faces on Il Vizio!

Each track is like its own wild ride, growing from one musical motif as the band grows the sound around it, occasionally incorporating other melodic grooves before switching the sound completely to another motif. The compositional approach from Shuffled combined with the freeness of improvisations allows for some interesting moments in Il Vizio! but are reigned back in by pleasant, danceable grooves that treat the listener after the musicians indulge in their organized chaos.