Latest releases reviewed

SHELLY BERG
Blackbird Concord
****

One of the things about the great tradition of straight-ahead jazz piano is its enduring capacity for surprise. The surprise this time is Berg, a formidable improviser within that tradition, with stunning technique and an absence of superfluous gesture in his work. With the seasoned Chuck Berghofer (bass) and Gregg Field (drums), Berg explores a programme of mostly seldom-played standards, spiced with material by Strayhorn, Lennon-McCartney, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Pat Metheny and himself. Standouts on a session in which the trio's joy in performance is palpable include a superb Question & Answer by Metheny; Strayhorn's impressionistic A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing; All The Things You Are; and Van Heusen's little-known All My Tomorrows. www.musicconnection.org.uk

Ray Comiskey

FRIEDRICH GULDA
Friedrich Gulda und sein Eurojazz Orchester Preiser Records
****

This rare mid- 1960s live recording is the only one by Viennese pianist, composer and arranger Friedrich Gulda's Eurojazz Orchester, an ad hoc big band with some outstanding European and American jazzmen. This edition included Kenny Wheeler, Herb Geller, Tubby Hayes, Ronnie Ross, Ron Carter and Mel Lewis. The featured soloists were JJ Johnson on his own splendid Eurosuite (which also featured Hayes, Geller and Ross), and Gulda and Joe Zawinul on Gulda's exciting Variations for Two Pianos and Band. Johnson's suite, in particular, is superbly constructed, mixing a great variety of colours and figures brilliantly within the conventions of the time, while the trombonist's own contribution as soloist is magisterial. Playing time is light, but it's quality time. www.harmoniamundi.com

Ray Comiskey

TINA BROOKS
True Blue Blue Note
*****

Tenor saxophonist Tina Brooks was a gifted player who never achieved the recognition he deserved and died young in 1974, succumbing to drugs and neglect. It's a familiar combination, and this 1960 session with Freddie Hubbard (trumpet) and a fine Duke Jordan-Sam Jones-Art Taylor rhythm section was the only one to appear in his lifetime. It's a superb example of hard bop and probably the finest session Brooks made as leader. All the material but one piece was composed by him, and though they're slight enough compositions, Hubbard, Brooks and Jordan solo with zest and imagination on them. The remastered sound by engineer Rudy Van Gelder is, as usual, a considerable step up on previous reissues.

Ray Comiskey