Search the Music Review Database

Pop and Contemporary Music

Travis - 12 Memories
Independiente ISOM 40CD Reviewed by MC
For the record, I hated their first album. Their second and third albums were nice, but a bit, well, beige. I always got the feeling Travis were a band looking for a purpose: they could write catchy tunes, put them together in a format that could sell millions, but still lacked that certain something. It didn't matter how delicate the guitars, or how pained Fran's vocals became, they still didn't really stand out. 12 memories then is less a pop record, and more a protest album. It comes packed with thinly veiled attacks on modern politics, and more specifically modern military practices. With track titles such as 'The Beautiful Occupation', 'Peace the F*** Out' and 'Mid-Life Krysis' they were obviously courting controversy. As it is, all this gives the album a certain direction, without substantially changing anything. Travis have spiked their simple, sparse tunes with sharp satire and allegory. And to that they have added a fair amount of dark, heavily orchestrated tracks. But the fact remains, this is a Travis record. It's slightly more rough, slightly harder and slightly more varied, but Travis it remains. 12 Memories is their best record yet. If you quite liked them before then it's likely you will find this album a welcome progression. If not, then you'll still dislike them, for all the same reasons.

Ryan Adams - Rock N Roll
Lost Highway 986132-4 Reviewed by RP
The new Dylan for a New Millennium? Well, no, not by a country folk rock mile. On the evidence here before my ears, Ryan Adams is much more rowdy than evolutionary. His new album, Rock N Roll, pitches up somewhere between the excesses of Oasis Brit-Pop and that introspective navel gazing sound crafted by Morrissey. The guitar lines and swearing are oh so Gallagher. While the loneliness, repeated references to substance abuse and a general air of neediness are lifted straight from out of the Smiths' songbook. Manchester clearly has plenty to answer for. Yet, 'So Alive' and 'She's Lost Total Control' are still solid enough songs. The latter in particular has those classic lyrical strengths one naturally associates with Adams, but its mood is black, depressingly dark in fact, and this leaves you craving for one of the few ballads on the album like 'Wish You Were Here'. Elsewhere, though, it is difficult to know if one of the finest singer songwriters around really wants to metaphorically don a pair of tight leather trousers for such fast and furious rock songs as '1974'. Or whether he is merely striking a well-worn pose before a return to those familiar moments of tenderness and honesty heard throughout Gold and Heartbreaker.

Ryan Adams - Love Is Hell pts.1 and 2
Lost Highway 986 136-1 Reviewed by RP
A fifteen-track brooding ten-inch gatefold LP is a marked departure from the overblown and quite raucous stance adopted for Rock N Roll. These songs have a "cut me and I bleed" quality about them. They burn more slowly and ignite into waves of love-lorn self-pity. Yet these deliciously depressing ballads still rock but to the beat of a bleeding heart instead. Is this posing or has Adams really suffered at the manicured nails of a siren? Does it matter? These are questions to which we don't really need answers because the lyrics and the music that he so sensuously drapes around those barbed observations are intriguing enough on their own. Even when the characters in these songs inhabit seemingly stable relationships they are still racked by doubt- 'I See Monsters'. Or are prone to the petty jealousies and outbursts of frustration - 'Hotel Chelsea Nights'. You always want to hear more of this jaundiced vision which often so artfully couples disturbed emotions to bleak cityscape images. His preoccupation with fragile love-its unpredictability and uncertainty-is simply that engaging when presented against this backdrop. Gritty insights abound as 'Afraid Not Scared', 'Love Is Hell' and the plaintive cry of the drowning lover, 'Please Don't Let me Go', leave us all feeling "Washed up in a shore of memories".

Tiger - Rosaria
TUGCD10 Tugboat Records Reviewed by MC
Rosaria was Tiger's second full length album. Their first album was critically acclaimed, and, for a short while, made them relatively hot property. Making their name with extremely simple songs, played with buzz saw guitars and single finger keyboard parts, they were spiky and full of energy. Rosaria took this youthful excitement and forged something a little more substantial from it. Tying the songs to a more traditional drum line, and fleshing out the song structures, Tiger created a much fuller sound. The closest musical relative to Tiger would have to be the Fall. Indeed, front-man Dan Laidler sounds like nothing more than an excited Mark E Smith on helium. But Tiger keep their music more firmly routed to basic tunes, and reap the rewards with a far easier listening experience. Songs such as 'Root Cage' are pure bursts of punk, whilst other tracks mix more baroque influences to make something more exotic. Lyrically Tiger are unrivalled. Occasional lyrical masterpieces leap out throughout the record, but, for the main part, they are possibly the most obscure and obtuse mental outpourings ever recorded. Rosaria was a bold step from a seriously underrated band. Tiger effortlessly create a sonic powerhouse, belting out high-octane pop. Match this with a little lyrical masterwork, and some leftfield musical influences and you get a great album, one I never tire of.

Misty Dixon - Are You Lost
Twisted Nerve Records TNO 44 Reviewed by RP

Misty Dixon - Iced To Mode
Twisted Nerve Records TNO 46 Reviewed by RP
Feeling a little catty? Want to know what singer-songwriter Jane Weaver of Like An Aspen Leaf fame does in her spare time? Then why not indulge yourself with that sweet hypnotic purr of her haunting electropop alter ego in the four-piece band, Misty Dixon. What began as a series of studio based projects has quickly blossomed into a fully fledged live set up that supported The Thrills and headlined for festivals both in London and at home in Manchester. The three girl vocalists, Jane (guitar, piano and keyboards), Anna Greenwood (piano and keyboards) and Sam Yates (bass, guitar and keyboards) were soon joined by the multi-talented Dave Tyack on drums, piano, violin and melodica. Though Jane claims his motives for almost too readily offering his services to the band were not wholly pure. She says that he did it "probably so he could meet girls". However, a four-track demo, 'I, So Many Times', which Jane wrote on an old Farfisa organ appeared as part of an EP in the Spring of 2001. To be followed by the Are You Lost EP in 2002 and a debut album Iced To Mode, last year. There is definitely an experimental feel about the EP right from the opening grooves of 'Intro' to a closing 'Outro', but this happens within some known parameters. Harmonies have a choirgirl quality reminiscent of lullabies. The singing in French for 'La Chanson De Noel' (a track which closes out the album) comes over as nostalgic and sepia coloured rather than pretentious, and although the languid tempo is similar to that of the Weaver solo works, she does draw out darker emotions - ones which have not been heard since her sad heavy metal days - through a dreamy almost drug induced electronic drift. All of this reinforces a general sense of moody ambiguity that grows from within the densely packed and reverberating instrumental passages that clothe these lyrically simple songs. Iced To Mode takes up and expands upon those possibilities suggested by the EP. Among its eleven tracks are songs like 'Coco', 'The Sea Is Not Far' and 'Milk Money'. All are low on philosophy but generously glow with the essence of an idea, sensation or sentiment that is weighed and measured by simple choruses or refrains which in the case of 'The Sea Is Not Far' mimic those rolling undercurrents beneath the surf. Even when Jane's concerns stray inwards towards those more intense matters of the heart in 'No More Too Long Ago' and 'You're So Cruel To My Heart' you are still not really encouraged to engage with any particular character on an intimate or deeply personal level. Instead, the notions of love - the moodiness surrounding loss and longing - are hinted at through the subtle use of layered instrumentation and lyrical and melodic repetition. Here we are spared the complexity and ambiguity that surrounds this theme as Weaver musically strips back the feelings to a reassuringly straightforward and almost childlike emotional state. The simplicity of these laments is appealing. It intentionally lulls you. But that is the artisans trick. Suddenly it dawns on you that this monochrome world does not really exist. It's a flight of fancy. Only then do you begin to speculate and construct your own three dimensional backdrop to these songs as the Farfisa organ eerily colours your thoughts. Technically, this is a remarkably unfussy recording. Clear sounding and reasonably detailed. Though it does struggle with those more congested electronic sections, the presentation of the waif-like vocal lines is done with delicacy and sweetness.

Lloyd Cole - Music In A Foreign Language
Sanctuary Records SANCD 182 Reviewed by RP
The belt fed, thousand rounds a minute delivery of telling political, philosophical, cinematic and literary allusions have now absented themselves from Lloyd Cole's lyricism yet these new songs are still packed with all the familiar metaphysical witticism, carefully phrased observation and those kind of linguistic striations which will in the space of one short breath completely alter your take on any incident or emotion. Sparkling syntax, meaningful melancholia, sideways smiles and trademark backing guitars play across ten tracks that chart the pit falls, privations and punch drunk platitudes that accompany his romantic vision. Of course "love bites" really hard for an opening title song and in the closing track, 'Shelf Life', but this is because they also musically allude to those "industry bloodsuckers" which have placed pop idol images ahead of song writing talent and musicianship. All are brought into sharp focus by a figure-hugging recording of Cole's acoustic guitar and beautifully enunciated vocal lines. His craftsmanship unerringly captures the shifting patterns of light for 'Late Night, Early Town' and the emotional crutch behind 'My Alibi'.

Jimmy Thackery - True Stories
Telarc CD 83572 Reviewed by AH
A while back I was reading Mojo's 'Top 100 Guitarists poll' and was horrified to find Rory Gallagher languishing somewhere around the 75 mark. I could just about accept that opinion (I certainly don't agree with it) but the total omission of this man from the list was baffling, offensive and totally unforgivable. Jimmy Thackery is one of the blues world's most precious jewels. As good as youngsters like Jonny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Jake Andrews and Aynsley Lister are, they all have some way to go before they're as good as this guy. True Stories, Thackery's latest for Telarc, is up there with his greatest recordings - in fact, it might very well be his best ever. It's a beautifully balanced affair containing11 majestic tracks, 10 of which come from Thackery's pen. There aren't any fillers and each song rewards the listener in different ways. You want rock? No problem, 'Got It Goin' on' and 'Too Tired' shake mountains. Into instrumentals? Lose yourself in the nine minute epic 'The Messiah Will Come'. Jazzy funky blues your thing? Thackery's nailed it with 'Bluesman On A Saturday Night'. Want your heart broken? Make your way to 'Baby's Got The Blues', which contains one of the most fluid guitar solos in the history of electric blues. Next time you do a guitarist's poll Mojo, make sure Thackery's where he deserves to be - Top 10.

Rickie Lee Jones - The Evening Of My Best Day
V2 Records VVR 1024732 Reviewed by RP
Rickie Lee Jones, always the Bohemian, once again delivers an album of musical surprises. A couple of the early tracks, 'Ugly Man' and 'Second Chance', have a definite "meets funky Dave Grusin" feel about them. Plenty of over layered vocals and a modern mix can't completely disguise those electric guitar licks, flute, sax, organ, trumpet and flugelhorn filled grooves. Even if all those Seventies jazz-pop fusion tunes badly damaged you in the past it's still worth persisting with this CD. Whereas the likes of Grusin, Lee Ritenour and Chuck Mangione hit you with a bland and quite blunt sound, RLJ not only has that clipped and characteristically pinched voice going for her, but she can also effortlessly draw upon an incisive thematic or lyrical thread at any moment. There's a sharp edged tension at the outset in the snappily titled 'Lap Dog' and in the juxtaposition of the track called, 'Mink Coat At The Bus Stop'. These and the folk idioms and acoustic simplicity which lies behind 'Sailor Song' are definitely the salient points of both musical interest.

Heavy Stereo - Dévà Voodoo
Creation Records CRECD185 Reviewed by MC
Back in 1996 there were a lot of bands trying to be like Oasis. Suffice to say not many succeeded. There were also a lot of bands talking earnestly about song-writing and getting back to basics. With all this hot air being generated a lot of good bands sunk without trace, unable to swim clear of the musical dross. Heavy Stereo were one of these unlucky bands, tarred with the same brush as Shed Seven (undeservedly) they were largely dismissed as Oasis wannabes. But whilst Oasis were busy trying to become the new Beatles, Heavy Stereo had their sights set on something considerably more glam. Indeed, were Heavy Stereo to release this album again today, it would sit much more easily alongside the Darkness and the Libertines than it did with the Manics and Babybird. Dévà Voodoo is all rock, albeit distinctly shabby round the edges. Huge posturing rock guitars, overdriven solos, big choruses: it's all there. But what makes the album worth revisiting is the melancholy overtones, the grime that lies just beneath each song. This is a record born of poverty, back street clubs and unending tours. If you enjoyed 2003's renaissance of good rock, try this earlier attempt at retro glam-rock. As it happened Heavy Stereo fell at the first hurdle and Oasis snapped up their front man, so Heavy Stereo became Oasis. Irony?

Bob Margolin - All-Star Blues Jam
Telarc CD 83579 Reviewed by AH
All the musicians featured on this all-star jam truly have the blues running through their veins. Hubert Sumlin was Howling Wolf's Guitarist for 25 years. Pinetop Perkins is a veteran of the Muddy Waters Blues Band and also a spell working with Robert Nighthawk. Carey Bell is a hugely talented singer and harpist who has fronted his own band for 23 years, while Mookie Brill has worked with Hubert, Carey and Bob for years. As you would expect, all that experience creates a highly professional and authentic Chicago sound best described as loose, lazy and laid back with a spacious groove. The obvious joy these musicians experienced during recording comes over loud and clear here. All tracks were recorded at Blue Heaven, a converted church with great acoustics, which as Margolin says in the liner notes gives the instruments a wonderful natural echo. A few of the songs were recorded in front of a live audience and one of these, 'Mean Ol' Chicago' (a tribute to Jimmie Rogers), features a very poignant slide solo from Rogers' son Jimmy D Lane. All-Star Blues Jam is a highly enjoyable romp through Chicago's back yard and offers conclusive proof that not all the best blues albums are created in Texas.

Elbow - Cast of thousands
V2 Music WR1021818 Reviewed by MC
From the opening chords of track one this album is undeniably a work of true genius. No one sounds quite like Elbow. What we are talking about here is a refinement, a musical intelligence and maturity that is rare indeed. Comparing Elbow with most bands is like comparing Sir Norman Foster with the guy who drew up the plans for your new extension. The band has all the style of a John Barry Bond theme paired with a vocal talent that is quite simply unique. Whilst their debut album asleep in the back contained just a little too much filler to live permanently beside my hi-fi Cast of thousands seems a much better integrated record. Indeed whilst there were a few stand-out tracks on their last record, I have yet to choose even a handful of favourites from this one. Whilst it is playing the album is all consuming. The music bathes you in sound, as rhythms stagger and stumble, before dropping you into another perfect refrain. Off beat drumming constantly wrong foots you, whilst unconventional time signatures give the songs unusual variety. Elbow's curiously loping sound somehow manages to be both smooth and hauntingly poignant. If Elbow continue to mature like this, I cannot even imagine how great they may become. It's an awesome album: listen and be moved.

Various Artists - Blues On Blonde On Blonde
Telarc: CD 83567 Reviewed by AH
The music scene is absolutely swamped with tribute albums. They pour out of the woodwork with alarming regularity, often paying homage to little known bands or totally undeserving solo artists. Here's another, but this time the inspiration being his royal Bobness, an artist who certainly can't be deemed undeserving. To be fair this is a tribute album that approaches its subject matter from a slightly different angle, with male and female blues artists tackling 12 of the original album's 14 tracks, placing their own individual styles on them and, on the whole, succeeding quite admirably. Blues On Blonde On Blonde doesn't exactly come out of the traps at a gallop; Brian Stoltz' 'Rainy Day Women' is competent but uninspiring, Sue Foley just sounds like a sub-standard female impersonator and although Walter Trout injects 'Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat' with some typically fearsome playing, his version comes over as strangely lifeless. Elsewhere there are sterling performances to be found though; Eric Bibb's 'Just Like A Women' definitely hits the spot and even eclipses the original for me. Joe Louis Walker (one of the finest singers in Blues) breathes fire into 'Stuck Inside Mobile' with some sensuously funky playing and Clarence Bucaro's lounge room presentation of 'One Of Us Must Know' works an absolute treat. So, by no means the disaster it could have been and worthy of investigation, if only for that Bibb track.

Otis Taylor - Truth Is Not Fiction
Telarc CD 83587 Reviewed by AH
In the seventies Otis Taylor played bass for cult blues / rock band Zephyr. After a major falling out with other band members he turned his back on music and pursued a career in his other love - antiques. Taylor resurfaced again in 1996 with the album Blue Eyed Monster, but it wasn't until 2001's White African that he started to gain the recognition his highly individual style warranted. White African garnered universal praise, and rightly so. Here was a bluesman not afraid to push the boundaries of the genre to create a fresh and exciting new sound. His sound is sometimes Banjo led, mainly drummerless and built around one hypnotically repetitive chord; it sounds dull but it's anything but. Truth Is Not Fiction continues in the same vein as White African and its excellent follow up Respect The Dead. Again there's no drummer present but there's a lot going on elsewhere, so you tend not to notice. Electric Mandolin, Banjo, Cello, various Guitars and Bass weave in and out of your subconscious and wrap themselves around Taylor's heavily tortured voice and politically charged lyrics, creating a sound quite unlike anything else in modern blues. Otis Taylor's Music is Urban but thought provoking, dark but uplifting, intense but enlightening, along with Chris Thomas King he's pushing the boundaries and taking blues full speed into the 21st century. Jaded fans looking for inspiration, start here.

The Jayhawks - Rainy Day Music
American Recordings / Lost Highway B0000080-01 B Reviewed by RP
Since the middle of the 1980s The Jayhawks have, in one guise or another, been playing their own brand of R&B influenced country-rock. Of the original line up from Minneapolis only Gary Louris (vocals / guitar) remains and it is his song writing on sixteen of the twenty tracks that sets the tone for Rainy Day Music. With titles like 'Tailspin' (about imprisonment) and that "mourning wind" of 'Come To The River' you could easily be forgiven for believing that this album is as depressing as a Minnesota winter. But from the tempo and opening Byrds-like chords of 'Stumbling Through The Dark' it's clear that we are not being asked to meekly accept caustic observations on life without some notes of optimism. Another positive is the Dylanesque quality in the Matthew Sweet vocals on 'All The Right Reasons', 'Tailspin' or 'Eyes Of Sarahjane', where a romantic tryst opens into a bittersweet examination of falling in and out of love. Music generously tinged with colourful tonal scoring for banjo, chamberlain, dulcimer, harmonium, pump organ, accordion and B-3 as well as those bedrock acoustic, electric and lap steel guitars.
Supplier: Vivante - www.vivante.co.uk (44)(0)1293-822186

Van Morrison - What's Wrong With This Picture?
Blue Note Records 7243 5 93651 2 1 Reviewed by RP
A mouth-watering association with the legendary Blue Note label marks a fascinating return by Van Morrison's to his soul and R&B roots. Apart from an exceptional cover of the Lightnin' Hopkins song, 'Stop Drinking' and the reworking of those morbid themes in a traditional 'Saint James Infirmary', we are treated to another eleven self-penned numbers which do not diminish his reputation as an intuitive modern day troubadour who can traverse any genre. There are classic blues tracks such as 'Meaning Of Loneliness' and 'Whinin Boy Moan'. The more pensive songs in the shape of 'Too Many Myths', 'Goldfish Bowl', 'Fame' and 'Get On With The Show' share with us his grizzled insights on the nature and personal price of success. And there's romantic tints found amongst the pastoral scenery of 'Once In A Blue Moon', 'Somerset', 'Little Village' and 'Evening In June'. All are impeccably underscored by the likes of Gavin Povey on piano and the soaring trumpet and flugelhorn playing of Matt Holland. There's even a spot for the Acker Bilk's clarinet on 'Somerset', while Foggy Lyttle lays down electric guitar licks and both Bobby Irwin and Liam Bradley beat out the rhythm on drums. Van, meanwhile, headlines as lead vocalist and treats us to his glorious acoustic guitar chord changes and alto sax interludes.

Belle and Sebastian - Dear Catastrophe Waitress
Rough Trade Records RTRADECD 080 Reviewed by SD
Not exactly known for their chirpy optimism, Dear Catastrophe Waitress may at first listen seem like something of a departure from previous Belle and Sebastian form. However, don't be fooled by the jaunty brass sections and upbeat tempo; lead singer and main songwriter Stuart Murdoch still retains his dark sense of humour. After all, who else would have the imagination to write a song about the trials of working in admin ("My output is in decline / I was burned out after Thatcher.") Competition for songwriting duties from guitarist Stevie Jackson has only improved matters. Those who believe Belle & Sebastian are simply twee indie popsters obviously aren't listening very carefully. Musically, this LP reflects new ground for the band. Sweeping melodies and well-constructed harmonies add much appeal, whilst 'Stay Loose' represents a stylistic shift; a jerky number which sounds more like the Clash than Nick Drake. Dear Catastrophe Waitress seems to conclude that whilst life is rarely easy in Belle and Sebastian's, it's certainly never dull and as the band put it themselves in 'If She Wants Me', "It's always worth living at least for a while." This may well be Belle and Sebastian's best effort since If You're Feeling Sinister. Not bad coming from the producer (Trevor Horn) behind Tatu.

Isobel Campbell - Amorino
Snowstorm Records STORM 024LP Reviewed by RP
Amorino is a pre-rock 'n' roll concept of popular music, one which conjures up scenes in very much the same way as that of the mid-Twentieth Century French art house new wave movement. Breathless vocals, an expanded musical palette (with violins, flutes, cellos, double bass, trumpet and trombone) and some indulgent jazz accompaniment recreates a pastoral idyll reminiscent of Vashti Bunyan or a down tempo Basia Trzetrzelewska - she who lead the female vocal line for Matt Bianco some two decades ago. This melodic and affected vulnerability, together with an absence of any real urgency or drive is still Isobel Campbell's most charming asset and her biggest liability. All those accusations of mannered self-consciousness and a childlike naivety, levelled when she was part of Belle and Sebastian, can be said to resurface here, especially if you are of a particularly unreceptive mind. But there is no denying its sweeping moments of lyrical and instrumental beauty as songs like 'This Land Flows With Milk', 'Monologue For An Old True Love' and the duet, 'Time Is Just The Same', transcend "twee" and "cute" to end with that burnt bitter flavour of contemporary desperation.

Concord Jazz Sampler - Concord Jazz
SACD-1032-6 Reviewed by DD
Concord may not be up there with Blue Note or Atlantic but they have nothing to be ashamed of and although I suspect that sound quality predominated in this selection, musicians of the calibre of Art Blakey and Stan Getz are represented here. Standouts include a percussion and bass driven 'Come With Me' from Tania Maria, 'Listen Here' from the Gene Harris Quartet with some nicely predominant bass from Ray Brown, Stan Getz in fine form in his take on Strayhorn's 'Blood Count' lifted from his Pure Getz album, and Art Blakey in a storming version of 'In Walked Bud' from his album Keystone. Sitting a little uneasily alongside these are a very mellow Michael Feinstein with The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra interpreting 'Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year' and an even richer toned Mel Torme with big band performing 'Love Walked In'. The standout number here and worth the price of admission alone is Carmen McRae's 'My Handy Man Aint Handy No More'. This live number with Hammond B3 very evident, is a sly and bluesy delight and the best-recorded track of the set. Taken from Fine and Mellow - Live At Birdland West it's an album that's immediately gained a place on my wanted list. And if that's not a recommendation for a compilation I don't know what is.
Supplier: Vivante - www.vivante.co.uk (44)(0)1293-822186

Jazz Sexy - Various Artists
Chesky CD JD261 Reviewed by DD
Well, with Valentine's Day imminent why not? The cover which features the rear view of a model making passionate love to a corner does suggest that the contents are a little hotter than they are, but this is nevertheless a very enjoyable set of mostly relaxed (I suppose 'laid back' would be more apposite), numbers. Standouts are John Faddis' take on Coltrane's great 'Naima' that whilst it doesn't add anything (how could it), does the original no disservice but complements it with a beautifully recorded and played rendition. Rosa Passos and Ron Carter deliver a gorgeous and truly sexy take on Jobim's classic 'Insensatez', and Chuck Mangione injects new life into that hoary old chestnut 'La Vie En Rose'. Peggy Lee, a little past her peak maybe but more expressive as a result contributes an impassioned version of Kern's 'Remind Me'. There are no duff tracks here although I could live without yet another take on 'My Funny Valentine'. The whole thing hangs together well, the tracks all complementing each other. For me the Faddis and Carter tracks are the strongest here and as these compilations are designed to do have spurred my interest to seek out the albums they're taken from. Jazz Sexy? Maybe. Jazz enjoyable? Definitely.
Supplier: Vivante - www.vivante.co.uk (44)(0)1293-822186

Geoff Muldaur's Futuristic Ensemble - Private Astronomy
Edge Music B0000907-02 Reviewed by DD
As the owner of a nicely restored HMV upright gramophone and a treasured set of jazz 78's, I've long been a fan of Bix Beiderbecke, his 'At The Jazz Band Ball'/'Sorry' having been amongst the first batch of records I salvaged along with the player. Based around five piano pieces, his most impressionistic and arguably finest pieces of which only one 'In A Mist' was recorded by Bix, these have now been orchestrated and arranged by Geoff Muldaur and complemented by a selection of Bix's better known numbers. Vocals are shared by Muldaur and Martha Wainwright, with an outstanding rendition of 'There Ain't No Sweet Man That's Worth The Salt In My Tears' by Martha that tops even the wonderful Norma Waterson rendition, the main strength of this set is in the instrumentals. Here the true depth of Beiderbecke's genius comes to the fore and you can sense the influence of Debussy, Ravel and Stravinsky in superbly evocative numbers like 'In The Dark', 'Flashes' and best of all 'Candlelight's'. Muldaur has brought together a superb ensemble to record these pieces and the recording does them full justice. Full-bodied, with a solid bass foundation, just listen to those tuba lines, this set is as 'in the room' as CD has got for me to date.

Lee Morgan - Indeed!
Classic Records / Blue Note 1538 Reviewed by RG
Trumpeter Lee Morgan was just 18 years old when he made this debut for Blue Note in 1956. Premature? Not if you consider the evidence of the recording, or the fact that it came on the back of a short stint with and a subsequent invitation to join Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. Nor when you realise the quality of the backing band: the likes of Horace Silver and 'Philly' Joe Jones don't sit down with just anyone. Throw in Clarence Sharpe on Alto and Wilbur Ware on Bass and you've the makings of a seriously solid backdrop to Morgan's contributions. And his playing does his partners proud. Ripping, fast fingered lines on 'Roccus', hold just the right degree of control and sustain, while the deft economy of his playing on 'The Lady' demonstrates just what he could do with a slower tune. There's more than simple pyrotechnics here. The underlying feel leans towards Bird which makes for a fascinating contrast with the Lester Young album. Classic have transferred the mono tapes to their flat-formed 200g vinyl, doing their normal, flawless job. Even so, the recording is denser (though arguably more coherent) than the Lester Young, lacking the breathy immediacy of that disc. Perhaps not surprisingly, it also lacks a little of the musical depth and timelessness.

Larry Coryell, Badi Assad, John Abercrombie - Three Guitars
Chesky CD JD248 Reviewed by DD
This is Assad's first recording with jazz musicians but her Brazilian flavours merge seamlessly with the established styles of Coryell and Abercrombie. The three (Coryell left, Assad centre and Abercrombie right) were recorded in an "old church in the heart of a very cold New York City winter", thankfully the cold stayed outside since the warmth engendered by this all-acoustic set is palpable. The guitars joined occasionally by vocals, percussion or copper flute from Assad interweave superbly. Featuring their own compositions throughout there's not a weak track here. I particularly like the jointly composed 'Descending Graces' which features some particularly adroit body percussion from Badi, better still with yet more body percussion is the duo 'No Flight Tonight' with Badi egging Coryell into some superbly energetic playing. The closing number 'Timeless' is perhaps the strongest of the set. Its relaxed pace allows each musician to gently spread their wings and the effect is both soothing and stimulating. The recording is an example of understated excellence, avoiding the pitfalls of so many closely miked sets where you can be more aware of the sound of fingers on fretboards than the music itself, although you can indeed, as the sleeve notes suggest, hear the sound of the heaters keeping out that New York chill.

Lester Young - The President Plays With The Oscar Peterson Trio
Speakers Corner / Norgran MGN-1054 Reviewed by RG
In 1950, when Norman Granz gave Lester Young a recording contract he probably saved both his career and his life. Rising to prominence in the '30s with the Basie band, Young was well into a destructive spiral of drink and drugs by the time Granz happened by. Recording, first with Norgran and then Verve, gave him a new enthusiasm and lust for life, ultimately making him one of the most influential Tenors in Jazz history. This set was recorded in 1952, and finds the Peterson trio (filled out with J.C.Heard on drums) in relaxed and expansive mood, providing the perfect foil for Young's extended improvisational lines. Peterson himself is full of confidence, his phrasing perfect, his lines more adventurous than they often appear later in his life. It's an enticing mix, especially on standards such as 'Tea For Two' or 'On The Sunny Side Of The Street', where Lester's meanderings stay just close enough to the root to keep you interested whilst never making you work too hard. The recording, mono obviously, is big, close and immediate on the sax, while the playing has the fluidity and coherence of single takes. If you find Coltrane obtuse and Hawkins staid then this will be right up your street. Delightful.

© Images and text copyright Absolute Multimedia (UK) Ltd 1999-2008
another fine webwork by Global WebTrader