Christian Garrick: Different Strokes (Audio-B)
The field of jazz violin, never overcrowded, is blessed with the emergence of a world-class talent in Britain's Christian Garrick. On this brilliant, John Dankworth-sponsored album, the young violinist doffs a metaphorical cap at a variety of styles, notably those of the Grappelli-Reinhardt Quintet, plus a frisson of fusion and, most interestingly, some material that is, harmonically, rhythmically and in terms of group interaction, more contemporary. The ballads are gorgeously played, but those which most escape the Grappelli influence - Silver Scream, the superb Judas Kiss (on viola) - particularly impress. These are the more modern pieces, where Garrick's virtuoso but always musical voice seems at its most individual. Different strokes? There's enough here for different folks.
Ray Comiskey
John Lewis/Gunther Schuller: The Modern Jazz Society presents a concert of contemporary music (Verve)
Lewis and Schuller were involved in attempts to marry jazz and classical music in the 1950s. This rare album, just reissued, confirms it wasn't so much a shotgun wedding (the offspring didn't really appear until years later) as a decent effort at cross-fertilisation. Despite some awkward moments it bears up surprisingly well; not only were gifted players involved, but also the core jazz values of rhythm and improvisation were not entirely strait-jacketed. Rather the reverse: amid the fugal and baroque flourishes, the solo work of J.J. Johnson, Stan Getz and Lucky Thompson, along with the ensemble's colour and mobility (helped by the choice of French horn, flute, bassoon, clarinet and the intelligent use of harp, to add to tenor, trombone, bass and drums) remains ingratiatingly attractive. And central.
Ray Comiskey