Album Reviews

Appropriately enough, given the title, Downes is something of a golden boy on the British jazz scene. The young pianist has already won plaudits with the groups Empirical and Troyka, and this debut under his own name shows he's a formidable talent. It's wide-ranging trio music, taking in such diverse influences as Bartok and Rufus Wainwright, and Downes addresses his programme of originals with panache and spontaneity. If there's a comparison with better-known players, it's probably with Brad Mehldau, since Downes has a similarly eclectic outlook on an excellent debut. AV

Steve Hobbs: Vibes, Straight Up (Challenge) (12.99)

This does what it says on the tin. Hobbs is an excellent vibes player who's been around for a good few years now and favours a driving straight-ahead approach. In the company of pianist Bill O'Connell, bassist Peter Washington and drummer John Riley, Hobbs charges through a programme of well-chosen standards with good humour and some excellent soloing. He really sparkles on Hey Good Lookin' and St James Infirmary, but his playing is excellent throughout. The group swings hard, and O'Connell is an admirably sympathetic foil. AV

Alwyn: Peter Pan Suite (Dutton Epoch, CDLX 7237) (11.99)

John Wilson, who debuts at Opera North later this month, directs the BBC Concert Orchestra in eight world premiere recordings including William Alwyn's atmospheric ballet, Peter Pan and his Elgar-inspired tone poem, Blackdown. With an acute sense of orchestral colours he continues in the satire, Ad Infinitum, and the Overture in the form of a Serenade. Parry's Hypatia and unknown works by Vaughan Williams and York Bowen complete a stunningly played and well-recorded disc that no Anglophile can be without. DD

Suk: "Asrael" Symphony (Fuga Libera, FUG 557) (13.99)

The Belgian National is not one of the world's best-known orchestras, but for its Austrian conductor, Walter Weller, it here plays as if its life depended upon it. A long highly-charged and powerful symphony, Asrael is the Angel of Death, encapsulates the bitter grief the composer felt following the death of his loved ones. Lyrical ardour mingles with dream-like reminiscing, individual solo passages are excellently played. The Legend of the Dead Victors makes a sombre coupling. The engineers have supplied high definition sound. DD