Album Reviews
Gareth Williams Power Trio: Shock! (Linn) (£12.72)
The title might suggest a full-on jazz-funk outing from one of our most talented pianists, but there is much more than that to this CD. It finds Williams, bassist Laurence Cottle and drummer Ian Thomas, tackling a programme of good originals with brio and invention. Williams divides his time between electronic keyboards and piano, and on the former does some good work on A Welshman in New York and the title track. His piano work scores most highly, not least on a supercharged version of Coltrane's Giant Steps. AV
Geoff Eales Trio: Master of the Game (Edition) (12.72)
Eales also deserves his place in the upper echelons of British jazz pianists. Here, he's at the top of his game, delivering a wide-ranging programme of originals that cover both traditional and more modern sensibilities. There are shades of Esbjorn Svensson and Brad Mehldau in the approach to some of these tracks, while others nod to Bill Evans or Keith Jarrett, but Eales is firmly his own man and what emerges over the course of the album is a highly original player who tends to make his point quietly but forcefully. AV
Butterworth: Symphonies 1 & 4 / Viola Concerto Dutton CDLX 7212
Lancashire by birth, Yorkshire by adoption, the octogenarian Arthur Butterworth comes from a bygone age of symphonic composition. Sibelius is the inspiration for two windswept symphonies. Dramatic and vividly scored outer movements frame scores of powerful intent, a quality that continues through the Viola Concerto. In reality a symphony with viola, Sarah-Jane Bradley is the superb soloist. The First is from the Halle and Barbirolli in 1958, adding to new recordings from the Royal Scottish National conducted by the composer. DD
Verdi: Simon Boccanegra Regis RRC 2083 (2CDs) 11.98
It was the dream team from the 1950s, the two massive voices of Tito Gobbi and Boris Christoff as the two rivals, set beside the lyric Victoria de Los Angeles and Giuseppe Campora as the innocents drawn into their feud. Conductor, Gabriele Santini, whips up excitement, Gobbi and the much undervalued Campora in particularly fine voice. The original sound from 1957 was a cut above the average, capturing the vivid playing of the Rome Opera Orchestra with appropriate impact. DD
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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