Latest Jazz CDs reviewed

ARILD ANDERSEN/TOMMY SMITH/PAOLO VINACCIA

Live at Belleville

ECM *****

On this evidence, the bass-tenor- drums trio of Andersen, Smith and Vinaccia are among the best in current jazz. Amid some quick-witted and lyrically intense playing, their capacity to reconcile surprise with order is arresting. The core is Andersen's Independency, a four- part soundscape marking the 2005 centenary of Norway's breaking of the union with Sweden. Its blend of freedom with structure, seized on so creatively by the trio, is effectively a metaphor for the event it celebrates. The multi-faceted suite extends from the linear tartness, soon resolved, of Part 1 and the anguished, driven drama of Part 2, to the ethereal electronic colours of Part 3 and the relaxed, triumphant swing of the close. But the trio's programme also includes a fresh, inventive take on Ellington's Prelude to a Kiss, a headlong, compelling Outhouseand a beautifully unified, lyrical performance of Dreamhorse, both Andersen originals. Superb. www.musicconnection.org.uk RAY COMISKEY

STAN TRACEY OCTET

The Early Works

ReSteamed ****

This double marks the CD debut of two fine mid-1970s albums, The Bracknell Connectionand The Salisbury Suite, by the stellar octet for which Tracey wrote and arranged: Harry Beckett (trumpet), Malcolm Griffiths (trombone), Pete King or Jeff Daly (alto), Art Themen (tenor/soprano), Don Weller (tenor) and the Tracey-Dave Green-Bryan Spring rhythm section. Tracey's elegant writing gets a huge sound from the band, while the fecundity of his ensemble idea - to break up solo sequences and support the soloists over very long tracks - is exhilarating. The live setting, too, adds a bite to performances driven uncompromisingly by Spring. If The Salisbury Suiteis slightly better recorded (with a better piano - Beckett also plays an uncredited flugelhorn solo on Miff), the more gripping of the two is The Bracknell Connection, typified by an exuberant opening blues, Cuddly, that is anything but. www.resteamed.com RAY COMISKEY

MIKE LEDONNE

FiveLive

Savant ***

This is one of those live recordings - of a 2007 club date in New York - where a good time was obviously had by all, particularly by the quintet led by pianist Mike LeDonne, Jeremy Pelt (trumpet), Eric Alexander (tenor), John Webber (bass) and Joe Farnsworth (drums). The result is an unpretentious blowing session with a feelgood factor fuelled by familiar pieces by Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie and Stevie Wonder, and originals by LeDonne, Pelt and CedarWalton. Ferociously uptempo excursions, on Encounterand the fast section of Manteca, occasionally lure the soloists into running changes. Impelled by a fine rhythm section, however - Farnsworth is an ideal drummer for this kind of jazz - the band grooves persuasively on Little M(where the reliable Alexanderis outstanding), the aptly titled Good Timesand the closing blues, Bleeker Street Theme. Fans should find much to savour. www.jazzdepot.com RAY COMISKEY