The latest releases reviewed
KETIL BJORNSTAD-TERJE RYPDAL
Life in Leipzig
ECM
****
Though the pairing of Bjornstad and Rypdal goes back to the
early 1990s - and their work as a duo really began in 1999, since
when they have toured often - this 2005 live date is the first
recording of Bjornstad's classical piano and Rypdal's powered-up,
rock- influenced electric guitar. It works. With beautifully
controlled dynamics that run the gamut from forte to pianissimo,
there's an almost operatic sweep to the music. What gives it its
particular character and flavour, apart from the contrasting
colours of piano and electric guitar, is the undeniable melodic
grace of their compositions and the improvisations with which they
transform them. Many revisit their musical past, including their
time in The Sea quartet with cellist David Darling and drummer Jon
Christensen; they're all handled with the assurance of long
acquaintance and a freshness undimmed by familiarity.
www.musicconnection.org.uk
RAY COMISKEY
BILL STEWART
Incandescence
Pirouet
***
Stewart, a drummer noted for his adventure as much as his
skill, chose Larry Goldings (organ and accordion) and Kevin Hays
(piano) for this unusual take on the Hammond lineage. All the
compositions (by Stewart) either nod to that tradition or bypass
it. Thus the trio grooves over a piano vamp on
Knock on My Doorand drives superbly on a straight-ahead
Tell a Televangelist. But
Four Hand Joboffers some of the album's most liberated
playing (apart from the improvised
Metallurgy, a drum feature), while
Toadhas a Monkish rhythmic and linear unexpectedness, and
the song-like
See Ya, with Goldings on accordion, could be a plaintive
background for an Italian movie. Hays, especially, and Goldings are
gifted soloists, and their rapport with Stewart, who knits the
group together authoritatively, makes this unusual line-up an
unexpectedly successful one.
www.pirouetrecords.com
RAY COMISKEY
THE PIZZARELLI BOYS
Sunday at Pete's
Challenge
***
This is jazz, as they say in France,
d'un certain age. When père Pizzarrelli et deux fils
- Bucky (rhythm guitar), John (guitar), and Martin (bass) - got
together with Tony Tedesco (drums), the style was reminiscent of
pre-second World War Hot Club de France, the repertoire of similar
vintage or older. No matter - the likes of
Sweet Sue, Alabamy Bound, Whispering, In the Good Old Summer
Time, When You're Smilingand such are played with affection,
skill, verve and charm. Bucky gives a demonstration of the almost
lost art of rhythm guitar, and John, with a hint of Django in his
style (though his phrasing is vastly different) is an idiomatically
on-the-button soloist. The rhythm section, even with tempos
sometimes creeping gradually up, is light and relaxed while
generating considerable drive and swing. Relatively simple,
old-time music, but good of its kind and hard to dislike.
www.musicconnection.org.uk
RAY COMISKEY
