Music News, Reviews, Articles, Information

Jacky Terrasson: Push | CD review

koko — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 22:12:00 +0300

(Concord Jazz)

Paris-raised pianist Jacky Terrasson has made a few flashy albums since he won the Thelonious Monk Piano Competition in his adopted New York in 1993. But this set feels warmer, more musical and more mindful of its materials than previous outings, as well as emitting bursts of headlong energy that make you whoop. An assertive young rhythm section is joined by guests including harmonica player Grgoire Maret and the Joe Lovano-like saxophonist Jacques Schwarz-Bart, and the repertoire mixes originals, standards, a little Michael Jackson and two Monk classics. Keith Jarrett's rousing gospel-improv style ignites the funky opener Gaux Girl; Michael Jackson's Beat It bursts out of free-improv and turns into a rhythm-switching Body and Soul with thundering McCoy Tyner chords; and a playful conversation between the piano and harmonica makes Monk's Ruby My Dear a highlight. Terrasson mixes flying swing and free-jazz splashings on Beat Bop, while the Moon River-like My Church is a sumptuous chordal ballad, and the group takes on a Metheny/Zawinul quality with the African-Latin vocal choruses on Say Yeah. It feels like a new lease of life for Terrasson.

Rating: 4/5

John Fordham

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Penderecki: Violin Concerto No 1; Horn

koko — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 22:12:00 +0300

Kabara/Vlatkovic/Sinfonia Cracovia/Penderecki
(Channel Classics)

Krzysztof Penderecki has long maintained that his concertos contain some of his most intimate and personal music, though the two recorded here take us into very different emotional territory. The vast, hard-hitting First Violin Concerto, written in 1977 while his father was dying, was the work that marked his return to more conservative modes of composition after his period as an avant-garde tearaway. Bruckner is often cited as the influence behind its intense if slow-moving musical logic. But there are also emotional overtones of Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto in the dramatic conflict between orchestral anguish and the soloist's infinite powers of consolation. The Horn Concerto dates from 2008 and is altogether more Baroque and exuberant. Its Schubertian title is a bit of a blind, since the "winter journey" referred to is a childhood hunting trip with his uncle, the memories of which spark off a celebration of mankind's supposed union with nature. You might not care for the underlying concept, but there's no doubting this is both a real feel-good piece, and a superb virtuoso entertainment. Recorded with state-of-the-art sonics, Penderecki conducts both performances himself. The Sinfonia Cracovia is his keenly responsive orchestra. Both soloists

Wolf: Mrike Lieder | Classical CD review

koko — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 22:12:00 +0300

Henschel/Schwinghammer
(Fuga Libera, 2CDs)

This year's Hugo Wolf anniversary

Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan: Hawk | CD review

koko — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 22:12:00 +0300

(V2)

Isobel Campbell made a smart move when she engaged Mark Lanegan as her singing partner in 2004. But listening to Hawk, their third album together, the thought occurs that she might make an even smarter move, by hiring another female vocalist as his foil. The pleasure of Campbell flitting like a will-o'-the-wisp in the cracks between Lanegan's fierce, parched growls is predictable now. Hawk impresses instead with its signs of Campbell's increased confidence as songwriter, arranger and producer. That assurance is obvious in the rollicking blues of Get Behind Me, more subtle in Time of the Season, a Christmas song rippling with warm summer breezes. At the microphone, however, Campbell remains diffident, lacking the expressive character that might make lines like "you knew I'd been with dirty dogs" or "I'm in a spin, I've been to hell and back again" sound true. Without it, her songs are never as effective as they might be, for all Lanegan's vivid passion.

Rating: 3/5

Maddy Costa

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Alasdair Roberts & Friends: Too Long in This Condition | CD review

koko — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 22:12:00 +0300

(Navigator/Drag City)

Scotsman Alasdair Roberts is a cult hero thanks to his highly individual, bleak or quirky songs

David Gray: Foundling | CD review

koko — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 22:12:00 +0300

(Polydor)

"It's the record I've been wanting to make for a long time," says David Gray of his ninth album, which arrives less than a year after number eight. Funny, because it's not so very different from the records he's been making all along. The customary bleak introspection ("Take me down, take me down," he sighs, preparing for the worst, on Davey Jones' Locker) is there, as is the neediness in his jagged voice, especially on the bloodily raw When I Was in Your Heart. The dabs of pedal steel and trumpet are also where you would expect them to be, prettifying the songs' guitar/piano foundations. Nothing new here, then, apart from a bareness that contrasts with the relative plushness of the last album at times, Foundling sounds as if Gray is alone with his guitar in the wee hours, whispering into a handy microphone. But if we've heard it all before, it doesn't mean Foundling isn't high-quality adult-pop.

Rating: 3/5

Caroline Sullivan

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

The Hoosiers: The Illusion of Safety | CD review

koko — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 22:12:00 +0300

(RCA)

This second album from the Hoosiers is being touted as a more low-key affair than its predecessor, which is a relief considering their 2007 debut was so daffily upbeat, you risked altitude sickness listening to it. Here, the English-Swedish trio trade 70s glam-pop for 80s synths and songs about rejection and dangerous love. They even have a track called "Sarajevo". It amounts to a bearable listening experience

Adam Schroeder: A Handful of Stars | CD review

koko — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 22:12:00 +0300

(Wichita)

The baritone, once the poor relation among saxophones, has come into its own in recent years and the latest entrant is Adam Schroeder, age 31. This is his debut solo album. It's an impressive performance that establishes a commanding presence from the first note. His pithy phrasing and relaxed delivery impart a lightness to the set and his full, oaky tone is a delight. Another newcomer, the excellent guitarist Graham Dechter, shines in the accompaniment, alongside the established bass-and-drums team of John Clayton and Jeff Hamilton.

Dave Gelly

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Animal Collective and Danny Perez: Oddsac | Pop review

koko — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 22:12:00 +0300

(Plexi)

Fans of 2009's Merriweather Post Pavilion, on which Animal Collective reined in their more outr tendencies in favour of gleaming hooks, are in for a shock. Among the more conventional moments of this "visual album"

Street Sweeper Social CLub: The Ghetto Blaster EP | CD review

koko — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 22:12:00 +0300

(Cooking Vinyl)

Named after a shotgun rather than a predilection for clean pavements, Street Sweeper Social Club are Tom Morello, former Rage Against the Machine guitarist, and MC Raymond "Boots" Riley, ex-member of underground rap group the Coup. Both veteran political activists, they remain cross about the state of the world on this seven-track follow-up to last year's debut album. So "every banker is a thief" and "revolution is the new fuck you", whatever that means, with the duo's irate lyrics neutered by their sound: a very 90s blend of crunchy guitar and angry bloke on the mike.

Gareth Grundy

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds