Album Reviews

Brad Mehldau: Highway Rider (Nonesuch) £14.99

This adventurous double CD sees the contemporary piano titan building on the foundations of his 2002 album, Largo, with a programme of compositions for orchestra. Mehldau's music, and the textures he draws from the orchestra, demonstrate a growing maturity in his musical outlook. This is a fusion of jazz and classical that feels natural and unforced, and the music often has a shimmering beauty to it, as well as plenty of intriguing twists and turns. Guest Joshua Redman, on tenor and soprano, is a huge asset. AV

Count Basie: One More Time (American Jazz Classics) 9.99

Classic stuff indeed. Here's the Count in 1959, thundering through a programme of compositions and arrangements by a talented young man called Quincy Jones. His writing, with its strong melodies and clean, uncluttered ensembles, suited Basie perfectly and the band makes the

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most of numbers like Rat Race, The Big Walk and Muttnik, with good work by a roster of soloists including trumpeters Joe Newman and Thad Jones, and tenormen Frank Wess and Frank Foster. AV

Dvorak: String Quartets Nos 11 & 12 (Nimbus Alliance NI 6114) 13.99

Coupling two of Dvorak's best-known quartets, the famous Czech ensemble, the Wihan Quartet have impeccable credentials for music from their native land. They have lived with these works for a long time, everything carefully considered yet emerging with fresh sounding spontaneity. The Twelfth carries the title "American" to mark Dvorak's time spent there, the Wihan injecting a feel of wistful reminiscences of his homeland. This is playing of the very highest quality, perfectly recorded and my top recommendation. DD

Stainer: The Crucifixion (Regis RRC 1307) 6.99

Once as popular as Handel's Messiah, The Crucifixion was released to coincide with Holy Week. In God so Loved the World, Stainer created one of the most beautiful 19th-century sacred melodies, the choral writing throughout intended for the vast number of amateur choirs that existed at the time. The celebrated 1978 recording, features the Choir of Peterborough Cathedral in fine voice under conductor, Stanley Vann, and excellent soloists, James Griffett and Michael George. Good sound and budget price tag. DD