What are you listening to and WHY might anyone be interested? (Vol. XIII)
Posted by: Richard Dane on 01 January 2017
2017 has arrived today, so time to start this thread afresh.
Last year's thread can be found here;
Now switched to something I do like...
It may be that the Italian pianist Alessandro Deljavan is destined for a controversial career. He is a highly demonstrative player whose incessant movements and exaggerated, protean facial expressions make Lang Lang seem a model of restrained immobility. Moreover, Deljavan adamantly maintains that curbing his extramusical mannerisms would impede his response to the music.
Fortunately he has already made a number of recordings that allow listeners to bypass visual distractions and focus on the piano-playing, and in his latest offering, Chopin’s 27 Etudes, his musical and pianistic personality is displayed in high relief. Deljavan is first and foremost a lyrical player. For him, the phrase is paramount, an excellent attribute in a Chopin player. His imagination is vivid, though sometimes it leads him into a stylistic no man’s land, where details are worried to death and the forest is lost for the trees.
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The exquisite E major Etude (Op 10 No 3) maintains a persuasive lyrical calm, followed by a C sharp minor (No 4) that is furious, galvanised and exciting. The sprightly energy of ‘Black Keys’ (No 5) seems particularly apt, and the ‘Revolutionary’ (No 12) roils without becoming overblown. The sustained cantabile of the ‘Cello’ Etude (Op 25 No 7) rises to poignant eloquence.
Yet there are moments when one wishes Deljavan would forsake his quest for a personal statement and play it straight, allowing Chopin to speak for himself. Overly lavish rubato reduces the quirkily dissonant E minor (Op 25 No 5) to sentimental salon fare, while a reflexive tenuto applied to the first note of left-hand phrases in the ‘Thirds’ Etude (No 6) grows tiresome. Unbridled tempo fluctuations rob the F minor (Op 10 No 9) of momentum and a good bit of character.
In these days of multivalent cosmopolitan pianism seemingly free of technical limitations, it is probably impossible for any pianist to stake territorial claim on the Chopin Etudes the way Wilhelm Backhaus could in the 1920s, or Maurizio Pollini in the 1960s. But if Deljavan’s Etudes are far from the last word, they are original, occasionally provocative and often compelling.
Joni Mitchell - Blue. Streaming
1973 - vinyl - UK first pressing...
2016 - Vinyl...
Now Playing........
Anouar Brahem Trio - Astrakan Cafe
Anouar Brahem (Oud), Barbaros Erose (clarinet), and Lassad Hosni (bendir, darbuka)
Streaming from NAS........ Simply beautiful, wonderful music to start the day!
Note from ECM record: Tunisian oud virtuoso Anouar Brahem counts as one of ECM's most important 'discoveries' of the last decade. After his highly successful trans-cultural recording 'Thimar', he returns to a more purely Middle Eastern music on 'Astrakan Café', with the trio that has been his first priority for several years. The improvisational exchanges between Brahem, clarinettist Barbaros Erköse and percussionist Lassad Hosni are exceptionally fluid, and the atmospheres that they create by turns mysterious, hypnotic, dramatic...
Various Artists - The Wonderful World of Christmas (AP SACD). Chad Kassem (Acoustic Sounds/Analogue Productions) selections. Snowy days-looks like Xmas is here!
I know that Haim is having a restorative break from ECM, whereas I’ve been listening to a lot recently, though more of the New Series. I’ve listened to John Potter on Ambrose Fields’ Being Dufay, as well as his first Downland Project before lunch, both of which have been really uplifting. And now, between siesta and walk, it’s this.
2016 - Vinyl...
Laura Gibson - Empire Builder...
On CD:-
U2 - Songs Of Experience
Joel Frahm - We used to dance
Allmusic.com:
With a bumper crowd of jazz tenor saxophonists emerging during the last two decades of the 20th century, it is easy for a listener to get overwhelmed with choosing new artists to explore. But Joel Frahm already had several strong CDs as a leader under his belt before recording his first session for a brand new label, Anzic. The big-toned player benefits from a seasoned rhythm section, including pianist Kenny Barron (whom he met while he was a student at Rutgers), bassist Rufus Reid, and drummer Victor Lewis. Rather than choose the easy way and cover a lot of familiar standards and jazz compositions, Frahm opts for a well-conceived collection of original compositions, including the loping "Bob's Blues" and the spry, twisting "A Whole New You." Frahm invited Barron to share a couple of pieces written some time ago, including the lush ballad "Song for Abdullah" and the gentle bossa nova "Joanne Julia," the latter bringing Barron's recorded collaborations with Stan Getz. When Frahm calls for standards, his choice of "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most" and "My Ideal" are excellent vehicles to showcase his lyrical side. Beautifully recorded and well played throughout the session, Joel Frahm has made it known he is on the jazz scene to stay.
Now Playing.........
Carla Bley - Songs With Legs
Carla Bley (piano), Andy Sheppard ( tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone), and Steve Swallow (bass)
Streaming On TIDAL....... Continuation of the ECM Records catalogue exploration. Listened to a number of Carla's albums last week and thought I would spin another. Sounding mighty fine!
Another fine album from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. For those who don’t know, his wife Susie Bick was doing a photo shoot in their bedroom when Nick walked in, and the photographer snapped the picture. He was far less keen to use it than she was.
Tina Brooks - The complete recordings.
Great jazz by the Tina Brooks quintet.
Many years ago, I used to get my Naim boxes from Sound Advice in Loughborough. Derek and I always spent a lot more time talking about music than Hifi, and this is one of the albums he introduced me to. It’s an acapella album, and it really takes me back to the mid 80s.
A+3 16/44.1 Dmitri Shostakovich - Violin Concertos - Sergey Khachatryan - Kurt Masur
Now Playing.......
Grant Green - Idle Moments
Grant Green (guitar), Joe Henderson (tenor saxophone), Bobby Hutcherson (vibraphone), Duke Pearson (piano), Bob Cranshaw (bass), and Al Harewood (drums)
Streaming on TIDAL....... Going with a mention from HAIM RONEN above. Opening track is smooth.....wonderful!
1981 - UK vinyl pressing...
Ray Bryant - Alone with the blues
