Latest releases reviewed

MICHAEL GARRICK
Children of Time
JAZA
*****
The marvellous music on this big band album is a salute to the cosmic compendium of mythical spiritual forces that may shape our being. Michael Garrick has composed new pieces and given old ones new clothes, placing them at the disposal of a tremendous band, vigorous and exact, with solo strength to match. As an orchestrator he's rather special; just hear the sheer diversity of the musical edifices he constructs, using the simplest of bases, on the exciting Sure as Fate and the haunting Spirits of Form, or the way the orchestral backing illuminates and supports singer Norma Winstone and the clarinet-flugelhorn duet on Spirits of Compassion and Twilight. This is warmly lyrical writing, full of colour yet rigorously focused, embracing an expressive breadth few can call on - and a good argument for one kind of intelligent design. www.jazz script.co.uk - Ray Comiskey

MARIA SCHNEIDER
Days of Wine and Roses
ArtistShare
*****
This live recording (which had a limited first release) of Schneider's big band marked the end of its long residency at New York's Visiones in 2000. It doesn't represent where she's at now with the classic Concert in the Garden, but it's a fun band, packed with New York's finest and clearly delighted to be playing charts by this great composer/orchestrator. It's also unusual in the amount of non-originals included; there are brilliantly imaginative treatments of Days of Wine and Roses, Over the Rainbow and My Ideal, and a gorgeous response to Ivan Lins's Começar de Novo, along with some of Schneider's impressive earlier pieces. Amid the exuberance are more touches of the veiled sonorities she handles so distinctively. Fine soloists and terrific recording by the late David Baker reinforce the quality.
www.mariaschneider.com  - Ray Comiskey

WALTER LANG
Softly As in a Morning Sunrise
Nagel Heyer
***
Behind the deceptively modest exterior of this piano trio album is a strength of conception that grows with repeated listenings. Lang, well-supported by Nicolas Thys (bass) and Rick Hollander (drums), is an unshowy but melodic player. As a soloist he makes no grand gestures; he simply tells his story, succinctly and cogently, and is done with it. He also thinks compositionally, not only in terms of line, but also in terms of the overall performance. As a result, his originals (Pensao Central, Monsieur Hulot, D'Afrique, Casino Estoril) have grace and character. And he brings to standards like Autumn Leaves, Spring Is Here, the title track and, especially, a beautifully considered Alone Together, a personal approach which illuminates their possibilities. Well worthwhile. www.musicconnection.org.uk - Ray Comiskey