Studio: In+Out Records MTM-00007
Video: 4:3 color
Audio: DD 5.1 on concert, DD 2.0 on extras
Extras: Profile of a Performing Artist (25:37), Interview with Woomy Schmidt (14:29)
Length: 1 hour 25 minutes for concert;
Rating: ****
Now this is more like what I had in mind for DualDiscs! The DVD is a separate disc, good. It does have a short promotional featurette on the performer and the tunes, well and good. (It was recently broadcast on PBS stations.) But in addition, the DVD presents a complete concert video in 5.1 surround that even includes one tune not on the audio-only CD! And it’s a beautifully-shot and produced video, with interesting angles on the performers and rich surround sound. It took place during the Jazz Week in Burghausen, Germany.
Arriale didn’t even expose herself to jazz until she was 24, having studied classical piano. She quickly discovered a special attraction to it and has been touring and performing with her trio for a decade now. Her musicianship is tops, and while she explores a variety of very creative improvisations on the standards and originals she plays, there is always a welcome focus on the melody – something which seems to be forgotten by many jazz players lately. Arriale selects tunes for improvisation which already have strong melodies, making ti easier to retain this focus. She has a special interest in the Beatles, and the trio’s version of Come Together is one of the most unique treatments of a Beatle’s tune I’ve heard in years. Four of the nine or ten tracks are her originals.
The contributions of her sidemen – Jay Anderson on bass and Steve Davis on drums – cannot be overestimated. This is obviously a trio who have been playing together for some time and are able to have an uncanny rapport with one another in their improvisations. Ballads seem to be Arriale’s piece de resistance. In them she achieves considerable emotional depth. There are several different record labels listed on the album; if you have trouble locating it you might try www.motema.com
Tracks: Iko Iko, Home, Braziliana, Arise, Come Together, Flamenco, Seven Steps to Heaven, Mountain of the Night, Bemsha Swing [DVD only: Alone Together]
– John Henry
