The latest releases reviewed

JOHN ABERCROMBIE & JOHN RUOCCO
Topics
Challenge
***
These beautiful duets contrast Abercrombie's ethereally lovely guitar sound and lyrical warmth with Ruocco's more abstract but equally lyrical and engaging clarinet. It works particularly well on a series of standards, where both players' harmonic nous and gift for the oblique allow the material to emerge from some exquisitely discreet improvising. Sometime Ago, I Can't Get Started, I Hear a Rhapsody and I'm Getting Sentimental Over You would be outstanding performances in any context, nuanced musical conversations in which the lead is subtly passed back and forth. Less compelling are the brief free improvisations in between, some of which give little sense of conjoined improvisation. Two improvs, however - the short, playful Mutes and, especially, a wonderful six-minute Fast and Slow - come together extremely well. Gorgeous overall.  www.musicconnection.org.uk RAY COMISKEY

HORACE SILVER
Live at Newport '58
Blue Note
***
Recently discovered in Columbia's vaults, these pieces of Silver from the hard bop heyday catch one of the genre's trendsetting quintets in good form. With the leader on piano were the late, lamented and more than solid tenor and bassist, Junior Cook and Gene Taylor, drummer Louis Hayes, and a brilliant, now all but forgotten trumpeter, Louis Smith. It was a crisp, together, working group, with good frontline soloists. If Silver was overshadowed by them, he was part of a swinging, locked-tight rhythm section. His gift for distinctive, catchy compositions set the band's identity, epitomised by Señor Blues (a latin 12-bar in minor) and Cool Eyes, their clever signature tune. Meanwhile, such pieces as Tippin' and The Outlaw somehow managed to be both convoluted and enjoyable. This is sunny music, a stranger to angst and pain, and very much of its time. RAY COMISKEY