Album Reviews
Gary Burton/Pat Metheny/Steve Swallow/Antonio Sanchez: Quartet Live (Concord) £12.72
Burton, Metheny and Swallow go back to the early '70s together, and,
with drummer Antonio Sanchez, they make some memorable music. Egos are put aside and the group clicks from the opening track. Burton's vibes playing is masterful and he sets the tone of the group. Metheny's guitar playing is phenomenal and he mostly leaves aside the pyrotechnics in favour of a quietly focussed approach. Swallow and Sanchez bond beautifully to keep the music moving. AV
Scott Hamilton/Danny Moss: Mainstream Giants of Jazz 2007 (Robinwood) 12.72
The great British tenorman Danny Moss didn't have long to live when this fine session was made, but it finds him still a wonderful player to the end. In the company of Scott Hamilton, a musical soulmate, and a supporting cast of veteran mainstreamers, Moss delivers a programme of standards with characteristic panache and swing. There are no surprises here, just well-played numbers with contributions from guitarist Dave Cliff and pianist John Pearce. The group is completed by drummer Martin Drew and bassist Len Skeat. AV
Barber: Vanessa. Sony 88697446172 (2CDs) 13.70
In the mould of Puccini with an American slant, Samuel Barber's opera tells the story of the beautiful Vanessa who, in the aftermath of a faithless lover, has withdrawn from society. It appears from a letter that he is returning, but it is his son who appears. This bitter-sweet story with a tragic ending is sung by the original cast, Eleanor Steber, Rosalind Elias and Nicolai Gedda among the star-studded line-up. Metropolitan Opera Orchestra with Dimitri Mitropoulos comes in good 1950's sound. Don't miss it, it may be your last chance. DD
Zemlinsky: Die Seejungfrau/Sinfonietta Naxos 8.570240 5.86
Mix Wagner, Richard Strauss and Mahler and you have the music of Alexander Zemlinsky. Die Seejungfrau (The Mermaid) comes from the late-Romantic era, a sumptuously scored and very graphic symphonic fantasy based on Hans Christian Anderson's fairy-tale. The three-movement Sinfonietta was completed thirty years later and is more open and lean in texture but equally appealing. The New Zealand Symphony, with James Judd conducting, wallow in the lavish scoring, the engineers providing a wide dynamic range. DD
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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