Album reviews

Andrew Vine (jazz) and David Denton (classical/opera)

Colin Towns & The NDR Big Band: John Lennon - In My Own Write (Provocateur) £13.99

There isn’t anyone to rival Colin Towns for making cross-genre projects work, and this scintillating double album which takes the music of John Lennon and puts it in a big band setting is a triumph. The NDR Big Band is one of the finest ensembles of its type in the world. This is a collection full of suprises, from the opening Being For the Benefit of Mr Kite, presented as a circus band pastiche, to Give Peace a Chance complete with sampling and readings. There isn’t a dull moment throughout. AV

Ketil Bjornstad/Svante Henryson: Night Song (ECM) £12.99

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Bjornstad is something of a renaissance man, with parallel careers as pianist and novelist, and his gift for storytelling in a musical setting is well to the fore on this series of intimate duets with cellist Svante Henryson. There is a contemplative quality to the programme of originals, and the overall mood is tinged with melancholy. This is, though, music of great beauty. Bjornstad’s long, singing, melodic lines are compelling, and Henryson’s playing has tremendous dignity. The album title sums it up - this is late-night, dark-hued music. AV

Rubbra: String Quartets Nos. 1, 3 & 4 (Naxos 8.572555)

If you enjoy Vaughan Williams, it is one short step to move into the music of Edmund Rubbra, though for too long it has been crying out for the Maggini Quartet’s passionate performances. Presently touring the region, they have become today’s leading advocate of British chamber music, and in very different scores, written through much of his life, they move from the contentment of the First to the farewell and sad resignation of the Fourth. Excellent sound quality. DD

Balakirev: Piano Sonata/Nocturne/Polka/Mazurkas (Hyperion CDA 67806)

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The virtuoso showpiece, Islamey, is all we know of Balakirev’s piano music. The influence, particularly in the shorter salon pieces, is Chopin, the music pleasant, lightweight and happy. It is a style that spills over into the Second Nocturne and the extended four-movement Sonata, thematic material decorated with elaborate filigree, though here the mood is more serious. Young British pianist, Danny Driver, produces all the technical fireworks needed. DD

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