tone Archive
Blue Canvas – Brandi Disterheft with Harold Mabern & Joe Farnsworth – Justin Time
Blue Canvas – Brandi Disterheft with Harold Mabern & Joe Farnsworth – Justin Time JUST 255-2, 44:55 ****: A smart and expressive release. (Brandi Disterheft – acoustic bass, cello, vocals; Harold Mabern – piano; Joe Farnsworth – drums) Guy Dixon, writing for Canada’s Globe & Mail on July 20,2009, offered the following headline: “It’s 3 AM, and a Canadian bassist is looking for her big break”. The article went on to describe how Brandi Disterheft was attempting to break into the jazz scene in New York City, after playing in and around Toronto, Canada during the previous decade. Now some eight years on, Disterheft appears to have paid her dues. She has brought together pianist Harold Mabern, one of the few remaining hard bop standouts, along with one of the stalwarts of New York jazz circles, drummer Joe Farnsworth, to deliver a smart and expressive release entitled Blue Canvas. The recording session is a mix of mostly well-known jazz standards along with several Disterheft originals, all of which demonstrate a certain harmonic expressiveness, that works well in a trio setting. The set opens with a Bobby Timmons/Jon Hendricks’ opus “Dis Here” which has seen its share of interpretations. Mabern takes […]
Emma Johnson, clarinet – “An English Fantasy” – Works of TODD, READE, DANKWORTH & HAWES – Nimbus Alliance
Charming new pieces played wonderfully! Emma Johnson, clarinet – “An English Fantasy” = WILL TODD: Concerto for Emma; PAUL READE: Suite from “A Victorian Kitchen Garden”; JOHN DANKWORTH: Clarinet Concerto – “The Woolrich”; PATRICK HAWES: Clarinet Concerto – with BBC Concert Orch./Philip Ellis – Nimbus Alliance NI6328 [Distr. by Naxos], 69:19 (8/12/16) ****: I have been a fan of the ‘English school’ of clarinet playing and music for many years, now, going back to my growing up listening to the great Gervase de Peyer and Jack Brymer. There is a full, rounded tone quality to English clarinet artistry, a bit ‘darker’ tone quality than the French and just the right touch of vibrato. While Emma Johnson’s tone is not identical to my idol, Gervase de Peyer, she has been one of England’s greatest and best known clarinetists for many years now and one of my favorites! This is an absolutely gorgeous and captivating collection of some modern works written for Emma and the feel of these terrific works runs from the idyllic and pastoral to the overtly jazzy. To start with, the Will Todd Concerto for Emma is a simply wonderful and jazz-inspired work, the center-piece of which is the […]
“Journey – Five Centuries of Song for the Saxophone” = Works by SCARLATTI, CARISSIMI, VIVALDI, MAHLER, MESSIAEN, and others – Eric Lau, sax/Kristin Ditlow, p. – Blue Griffin
Very unusual program but very nice playing. “Journey – Five Centuries of Song for the Saxophone” = Works by SCARLATTI, CARISSIMI, VIVALDI, MAHLER, MESSIAEN, and others – Eric Lau, sax/ Kristin Ditlow, p. – Blue Griffin BGR399, 66:54, (Distr. by Albany) (5/16/16) ***: Eric Lau is a professor of saxophone at the University of New Mexico, a frequent soloist with virtually every New Mexico orchestra as well as the Santa Fe Opera and is the baritone sax player in the esteemed Iridium Quartet. He is a very fine player with a clear and vibrant tone and formidable technique. Eric is truly “the man” among saxophone players in New Mexico and among the best players in the country as I have had the pleasure of hearing his work with the Iridium Quartet. So it is not surprising that – for saxophone playing itself – this is a rewarding album. The show here really is Eric’s very nice tone quality. The payoff is that this album makes for very ‘soft-spoken’, almost ambient, listening. Lau’s technique is not on display here; nor for his pianist, the very fine Kristin Ditlow. I admit, though, I have issues with the program. As the album title […]
Joe Henderson/Chick Corea etc. – Mirror, Mirror – MPS vinyl
Joe Henderson expands the vision on Mirror, Mirror… Joe Henderson/Chick Corea etc. – Mirror, Mirror – MPS 0210998MSW – vinyl (1980) ***: (Joe Henderson – tenor sax; Chick Corea – piano; Ron Carter – bass; Billy Higgins – drums) Joe Henderson, the iconic jazz tenor saxist, covered all bases. He could be deeply in the groove as a key member of Horace Silver’s funky hard bop band, yet at home with free expression exploring abstract jazz. He led sophisticated large bands and earned a Grammy honoring Billy Strayhorn on his well-received album, Lush Life. He was a reserved musician, never showy, and highly respected by his peers. He was inspired by John Coltrane and that influence is felt on this 1980 release, just reissued by MPS on vinyl. Backed by three all-stars, Chick Corea, Ron Carter, and Billy Higgins, we find Joe in a complex harmonically advanced modal space exploring fellow band member’s compositions, as well as one of his own tunes, and the standard, “What’s New.” Joe enters avant-garde space but does not venture so far as to alienate mainstream listeners. His composition, “Joe’s Bolero” goes out onto the ledge but is not a free dive as his bellowing […]
Meridian Arts Ens. “Alchemy” (CD+DVD) & Meridian Arts Ens. “Live in Concert” (DVD) – both Meridian Arts Ens.
Meridian Arts Ensemble, “Alchemy” = music of Byrd, Gesualdo, Corelli, J.S.Bach, de Lassus, Carissimi and Elgar Howarth (Track List follows) – Meridian Arts Ensemble, 8 Bells – (CD + DVD) 59:02, (2/01/13) ***1/2: Meridian Arts Ensemble, “Live in Concert : The Library of Congress – 2004; Deutsches Jazz Festival – 1997” = music of Stravinsky, Gesualdo, David Sanford, Elliott Sharp, Su Lian Tan, Daniel Grabois, Jon Nelson, Randy Brecker (Track List follows) – Meridian Arts Ensemble, 8 Bells, 59:02, DVD (4:3 PCM stereo) [Both Distr. by Harmonia mundi] (7/10/12) ***1/2: This is a very talented and diversified brass ensemble you should hear. The Meridian Brass Ensemble was new to me. This is a genre I do enjoy but do not follow too well, I admit. The Meridian Arts Ensemble is based in New York City, specializing in the performance of new works for brass and percussion, but also in the traditional brass ensemble rep and with equal skill. Founded in 1987, the original members of the group wanted an opportunity to play challenging works, to experience control of their ensemble, and to find creative outlets for their musicianship. Meridian received its early education in the American Brass Quintet’s brass class […]
Ernie Krivda – Requiem For A Jazz Lady – Capri
Some relatively unexplored terrain from an unconventional player.
CHOPIN: Preludes, Op. 28; Prelude in c-sharp minor; Prelude in A-flat Major – Yundi, piano – DGG
Yundi Li plays Chopin with vigor and poetry, but we wish DGG had augmented the program.
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
