The latest releases reviewed.
RICHARD GALLIANO-GARY BURTON L'hymne à l'amour CamJazz *****
Although this exquisite album began as a tribute to Astor Piazzola, this Galliano-Burton collaboration is even more wide-ranging than the great Argentinian's complex mix of joyful and melancholy music, five examples of which (Milonga Is Coming, Triunfal, Soledad, Operation Tango and Romance del Diablo) are featured. With remarkably sympathetic support from George Mraz (bass) and Clarence Penn (drums), the accordion and vibes virtuosi also dovetail their talents to near- perfection as they explore and transform pieces as diverse as a theme from Bach's Symphony No 11 in D minor (stirred into a graceful, brisk jazz waltz), Bill Evans's Waltz for Debby, Edith Piaf's title track, Galliano's bossa Para Jobim, and the theme from Il Postino. Accessible but full of depth, it's one of the most lyrically beautiful albums of the year. http://uk.hmboutique.com RAY COMISKEY
DAVID HAZELTINE The Jobim Songbook in New York Chesky ***
It's clear that when David Hazeltine embarked on this elegant tour of Jobim's songs, a standard bossa album was not what he had in mind; only one (O Grande Amor) is a samba and the rest are in 4/4. Blessed with a lovely touch, relaxed swing and an unfailing melodic sense, the pianist is a bopper well equipped in every way to respect the pieces' character and bring out their beauty, which, discreetly supported by Nat Reeves (bass) and Joe Farnsworth (drums), he does with taste and discrimination. The keyword is discreet. With bass and drums restricted to a supporting role, the trio is piano-led. As Hazeltine spins out his right-hand lines, there is none of the fluid, three-way musical conversation that's the norm for most jazz trios nowadays. For some that will be enough; others may prefer more meat from the delicatessen. www.musicconnection.org.uk RAY COMISKEY
TOM HARRELL Light On HighNote ****
Leading an inspirational band clearly stimulated by his superior compositions, trumpeter and flugelhorn player Tom Harrell is in prime form on this, his first CD in four years. One of the best young New York tenors, Wayne Escoffery, makes a highly compatible front- line partner, blending superbly with Harrell on theme statements and charting his markedly individual way through the material to offer an effective solo contrast to the leader. They're both driven by an incendiary rhythm section in Danny Grissett (piano/Fender Rhodes), Ugonna Okegwo (bass) and the remarkable Johnathan Blake (drums). The quintet's individual and collective virtues are epitomised in the buoyant Contrary Mary, a haunting Nights at Catalonia, the sinuous Architect of Time, and the calypso-like Blue Caribe. Nothing outré, just good music, vibrantly and imaginatively delivered. http://uk.hmboutique.com RAY COMISKEY
