Latest releases reviewed
PAQUITO D'RIVERA The Jazz Chamber Trio Chesky *****
There's nothing effete about this marriage of jazz, classical, Latin-American and folk elements, beautifully conceived and arranged for the coruscatingly brilliant trio of D'Rivera (clarinet and alto), Mark Summer (cello) and Alon Yavnai (piano). There's a sense of wholeness and authority about their work, despite the breadth of their repertoire and the moods it embraces. The trio's individual and collective virtuosity is always put at the service of the music, while all three are superb improvisers, capable of embedding their solos seamlessly into the flow of each piece. Melodic, graceful, crisp and vibrant, this is music of great charm and intimacy, always poised on the edge of joy, melancholy and nostalgia. The lovely solo improvisation, by the way, is clarinet, not saxophone as listed.www.musicconnection.org.uk
Ray Comiskey
DEANNA WITKOWSKI Length of Days ArtistShare ****
Witkowski is an emerging and impressive pianist, singer and composer on the New York scene, whose influences probably include Chucho Valdés and Lyle Mays. Her sheer musicality is abundantly evident, from a well-developed sense of line and harmony in composition, to the airily individual takes on standards like Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo, In the Still of the Night and I'm Beginning to See the Light. Although she's a good singer with a light, almost artless delivery that is, in fact, highly artful, it's her piano and composing that register most strongly. The four Witkowski originals are full of character, and the album benefits enormously from the presence of the marvellous Donny McCaslin on tenor and soprano, with Dave Ambrosio (bass) and Vince Cherico (drums) making up a formidable quartet playing music that manages to combine complexity with accessibility. Available only online. www.deannajazz.com.
Ray Comiskey
CLARK TERRY - BOB BROOKMEYER QUINTET Complete Studio Recordings (2 CDs) Lonehill ****
Conceived as a reaction to much of the serious, self-absorbed jazz of the early to mid-1960s, Terry and Brookmeyer put together a fun quintet with Roger Kellaway (piano), Bill Crow (bass) and Dave Bailey (drums) and kept it alive for five years. They were a perfect blend; Terry (flugelhorn/ trumpet) and Brookmeyer (valve trombone) shared technical virtuosity, imagination and a contrasting sense of humour - Terry's effervescent, Brookmeyer's sardonic. Their three LPs, on CD for the first time, balance structure with improvisation; most performances are packed with incident and variety. And though at times they could, perhaps, have done more with the material, the results still stand up remarkably well. The sleeve, incidentally, omits to mention that Hank Jones replaced Kellaway on the final sessions.
Ray Comiskey
