Album Reviews

Here's an enjoyable, power-packed and inventive session by a band comprising some of the most individual talents on the British scene. Saxophonist Stan Sulzmann, vibist Jim Hart, pianist Kit Downes and drummer Tim Giles click as a unit and deliver some splendid music. There is a high degree of dynamic interplay, notably between Sulzmann's gritty tenor and Hart's fleet vibes, and a collection of good originals gives the quartet plenty to chew on. It's top-drawer contemporary jazz. AV

Trish Clowes: Tangent (Basho) 12.99

Jazz players generally have to wait for senior status before they get orchestral accompaniments, but Trish Clowes, a young tenor player and composer, has gone that route for her debut. And a fine album it is too, full of promise and interesting ideas. The presence of pianist Gwilym Simcock as a guiding hand is beneficial, but Clowes scores with a light, spacious and uncluttered style, aided by a good sextet and some attractive writing for the orchestral passages. She's plainly a talented player with a bright future. AV

Shostakovich: 24 Preludes/Piano Quintet (Transart TR 162) 13.99

David Kadouch, one remarkable talent on view in the 2009 Leeds International Piano Competition, makes his recording debut with some highly perceptive Shostakovich. Whether in sardonic humour or brittle brilliance this is by far the finest version of the Preludes I have heard on disc. That accolade is equally true when he joins the young Quatuor Ardeo, the playing razor-sharp or in gorgeous subtle colours as the Quintet demands. Taken from a 2008 concert, the sound is superb. Fervently recommended. DD

Vasks: String Quartets Nos. 1-3 (Challenge Classics CC 72365) 13.99

Chosen by Ryedale Festival to give their first major concert back in 2003, the four Royal Northern College students formed the Navarra Quartet and went on to become one of the most exciting groups on the world stage. Here they play music by the Latvian, Peteris Vasks, that is challenging, disturbing and enormously difficult to play, and to my ears are just as important as Shostakovich's quartets. The playing is nothing short of sensational, the precision and enormous dynamics absolutely thrilling, as is the clarity of recording. DD