Glenn Gould in Concert 1951-1960

Glenn Gould

West Hill Radio Archives WHRA-6038

The tragedy of Glenn Gould as concert pianist is seldom discussed. He faced crippling performance anxieties he could not overcome, and abandoned his flourishing career in his early thirties. He then commenced to become even more famous in his subsequent life as a combination recording artist, CBC arts producer, music journalist, and general Toronto eccentric.

Here we have the Glenn Gould most of us never knew, the concert artist, in some five hours of previously unreleased recordings. All of this material is unedited, taken from radio broadcasts or private recordings: it is raw Gould, so to say, with the occasional smudges and wrong notes of all pianists, from an artist who in later life insisted on zealous control of his work, in his bid for edited perfection. The performances are from Canada, the USA, Russia, Austria, and Sweden. Gould biographer Kevin Bazzana has supplied lengthy biographical notes, in extremely small print. The release itself is Canadian/German and cryptic, except for a clear warning label: “Not available in the USA.”

A 1958 Vancouver Festival performance of - guess what? - Bach’s Goldberg Variations opens this boxed set. The Aria dances with tremendous musicality and contrapuntal verve. It feels more elastic and personal than the famous Columbia debut release of 1955. Variations 29 and 30 are electric and wild, and played interwoven as one.

There’s a wonderful performance of the Beethoven Second Piano Concerto with Paul Paray and the Detroit Symphony, with an aching slow movement. We tend to put Gould in a cerebral, clinical camp of pianism: not here. With the same conductor and orchestra - on the same night, no less! - Gould then teamed up with the DSO’s concertmaster Mischa Mischakoff and principal flutist Albert Tipton for a splendid, warm performance of the Fifth Brandenburg Concerto. Gould’s long solo cadenza, written by Bach, is muscular and songful.

Other treasures abound, including a gentle reading of Beethoven’s Sonata Op. 109 from a Vienna recital, Schoenberg’s intimate, spiky Piano Concerto with the Cleveland Orchestra, and some gorgeous Beethoven chamber music from the Stratford Festival.

There’s an oddly dreary Gould performance of the Brahms First Concerto - with a fine Winnipeg SO led by Victor Feldbrill - that then roars to life for our hero in the finale.

Swedish mezzo-soprano Kerstin Meyer joined him for Schoenberg’s song cycle Book of the Hanging Gardens at the 1960 Vancouver Festival. She tells us in the notes that Gould was a superb and deferential accompanist, who followed her “like a shadow.”

Sound quality throughout these CDs is so-so, yet very present and alive. Engineer Albert Frantz did the digital restorations: you know right away these are dated performances, but you also feel like a time-traveller, sitting in a good seat at each concert venue.

It is sad to recall that this brilliant young Toronto pianist of the 1950s could still be concertizing today, had he lived, and had he continued a normal path. Gould would turn 80 next year. He was a contemporary of Paul Badura-Skoda, Alfred Brendel and Martha Argerich. But something went wrong, and Gould’s retreat into the recording studio brought a more mannered musical trajectory that still confounds many.

Strongly recommended! Order online from www.canadacd.ca ($52.99).

Throughout his life, Robert Schumann tended to concentrate on one particular form of composition at a time, and in 1853 he produced his only three works for violin and orchestra, although only one – the Fantasy in C minor – was premiered before his death 3 years later. BIS has released an outstanding SACD of the Complete Works for Violin and Orchestra (BIS-SACD-1775) featuring Ulf Wallin with the Robert-Schumann-Philharmonie under Frank Beermann. The Concerto in A minor is Schumann’s own transcription of his 1850 Cello Concerto, and it works remarkably well, given the two instruments’ differences in pitch and tone. It was premiered as recently as 1987 after a copy was found in the papers of the violinist Joseph Joachim, to whom both the Fantasy and the Violin Concerto in D minor were dedicated. The Fantasy, an attractive work with a striking cadenza, fell out of favour after Schumann’s death, and the D minor concerto fared no better, with several projected premieres being cancelled before Clara Schumann and Joachim lost faith in it and decided against publishing it. Joachim’s resistance was probably due to the concerto’s technical and musical challenges: it’s a large work with a beautiful slow movement, but has never really established itself in the repertoire since finally being published and premiered in 1937. If anything can change that, it’s this recording. Ulf Wallin (who also wrote the outstanding booklet notes) uses Schumann’s original solo part, wisely choosing to ignore the later unauthorized “corrections and alterations” apparently made by Joachim. The result is a definitive performance, full of strength and beauty, and perfectly displaying the mix of Classical and Romantic styles that typify the music of this still often misunderstood composer.

CHANDOS has issued Volume 2 of the Violin Concertos of the Polish violinist and composer Grazyna Bacewicz (CHAN 10673), and it’s quite stunning. Bacewicz (1909-69) was that 20th century rarity – a world-class violin virtuoso with compositional skills to match. Volume 1 featured Concertos 1, 3 and 7, and this new CD completes the set with Nos. 2 (1945), 4 (1951) and 5 (1954) (No.6 exists only in manuscript, and has never been performed). The three works here range from the somewhat Prokofiev-like No.2, with its mix of melodic and strongly rhythmic material, to the much tougher, terser world of No.5, as Polish music began moving away from the “formalist” Communist days. All three demonstrate Bacewicz’s innate understanding of the instrument, and her assured grasp of form and orchestration. The Polish-born violinist Joanna Kurkowicz, now resident in the United States, is wonderful throughout, and given terrific support by the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Lukasz Borowicz. An absolutely essential addition to the 20th century violin concerto record catalogue.

Bohuslav Martinu, Arthur Honegger and Paul Hindemith lived almost exactly contemporaneous lives, being born within 5 years of each other in the early 1890s and all dying in their 60s between 1955 and 1963. As cellist Johannes Moser perceptively notes in the booklet for his latest CD, Cello Concertos (Hänssler CLASSIC CD 93.276) they had one other thing in common: they all consciously avoided the path of serialism and consistently developed their own very individual styles. Moser’s idea of bringing their cello concertos together in one programme is a real winner, and results in a terrific CD. All three works are in the traditional three-movement form and are immediately accessible, while clearly imbued with each composer’s individual voice. The Martinu, from 1930, has its roots firmly in the Czech tradition, with a soulfulness very reminiscent of Janáček at times. The Honegger is a short (15 minutes) but very effective work from the same year. The Hindemith, from 1940, is classic Hindemith: a strong, rhythmic opening; an immediate melodic entry for the soloist; an instantly identifiable and highly personal use of tonality; stunning orchestration. It’s a wonderful partner for the Violin Concerto from the previous year. I’m completely at a loss to understand why Hindemith is still regarded in some circles as a dry, theoretical musician – it’s a view completely at odds with his mature orchestral works, and one completely destroyed by performances like this. Moser is outstanding throughout the disc. The recorded sound is warm and resonant, and the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie and conductor Christoph Poppen are ideal partners.

Two late 20th century violin concertos are featured on a Harmonia Mundi CD (AP007) of works by Henri Dutilleux and Rafael D’Haene, with the Belgian violinist Yossif Ivanov and the Orchestre de l’Opera national de Lyon under Kazushi Ono. Dutilleux was born in 1916, and is still with us at 95! His violin concerto L’arbre des songes (Tree of Dreams), finished in 1985, took a while to write: it was commissioned by Radio France in 1979 for Isaac Stern’s 60th birthday the following year. It’s an intriguing work, consisting of four main sections joined by three orchestral interludes, and shows a tremendous range of orchestral colour and timbre. The Belgian composer Rafael D’Haene was born in 1943, and was a pupil and consequently a close friend of Dutilleux. His violin concerto (1990) is a two-movement work which has as its theme the myth of Orpheus, with which the composer has always been fascinated. It’s maybe less immediately accessible than the Dutilleux, but is no less striking a work for that. Dutilleux's Nocturne for Violin and Orchestra, sur le meme accord, completes the CD; it's a short but brilliant piece built on a 6-note chord, composed in 2002 and dedicated to Anne-Sophie Mutter. Ivanov and the orchestra are in top form throughout a disc that has to be listened to – no simple background music here – but that amply rewards the effort.

Three more 20th century violin concertos – although you would never guess to listen to them – comprise the programme on a CD of music by the Leipzig-born composer Julius Rontgen (1855-1932), who spent most of his life in the Netherlands, but remained firmly rooted in the German tradition of Mendelssohn, Schumann and Brahms. The German label CPO has issued an interesting and thought-provoking CD of his Violin Concertos (777 437-2) featuring the Concertos in A minor from 1902 and F sharp minor from 1931, together with the Ballad from 1918. Although I know the name, I can’t recall ever hearing any of Rontgen’s music, and listening to this CD it’s perhaps easy to understand why: despite all three works dating from the 1900s you’re constantly reminded of 19th century composers – Sarasate, Dvořák, and particularly Bruch and Brahms – and while it’s all very competent and makes for pleasant listening there doesn’t seem to be a great deal of substance or individuality. It always seems to fall just short of memorable. Brahms, himself a friend of Rontgen’s, was among those - both critics and colleagues - who commented that Rontgen’s musical voice was simply not original enough. That’s not to say that his voice was without talent, however. Rontgen may have been stylistically stuck in 19th century Germany, but he clearly knew his craft. These works display skill and taste, together with a real melodic gift and a fine grasp of orchestration; what he apparently lacked was that true spark of genius that would have infused his music with a strong personal identity. Dutch violinist Liza Ferschtman makes the most of the material here, with fully committed playing that presents the music in the best possible light. The Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz under David Porcelijn provides excellent support. It might be easy to see why this music has remained in a backwater instead of drifting into the mainstream, but don’t be misled: there are many really lovely moments throughout this CD.

There’s another recording of the wonderful Mozart Divertimento K563 - the String Trio in E flat – one of Mozart’s most glorious keys. I raved about the Trio Zimmermann’s recording of this work earlier this year, and now Naxos has issued an excellent performance by violinist Henning Kraggerud, violist Lars Anders Tomter and cellist Christoph Richter (8.572258). Again, don’t be fooled by the designation Divertimento: although this normally signified light entertainment music where the composer was free to choose a mixture of movements and forms, this six-movement work is, as Ingrid Anderson’s booklet notes so rightly point out, “far from pure entertainment.” She echoes the Alfred Einstein quote from my previous review when she calls the first two movements “…among the most sonorous and masterful examples of chamber music ever written.” And they are. This performance may be slightly less intense than the Zimmermann at times, but it’s a warm, rich reading that is beautifully recorded. At the bargain Naxos price it’s a great way to obtain a superb work that is quite simply Mozart at his best.

Xenakis - Orchestral Works

Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg; Arturo Tamayo

Timpani 5C1177 (www.timpani-records.com)

Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001) was a Greek composer based in Paris, with a long relationship to Canada: four premieres and many visits going back to the 1960s. For all that, there have been just two orchestral performances in Canada. Luckily, next March Esprit Orchestra will reprise its 2006 performance of Jonchaies (1977), a major work included in this set.

Over the 40-some years of his career, Xenakis wrote 40 orchestral scores, an amazing output considering that he composed 100 or so other works as well. Until recently, few of the orchestral pieces were available on disc. Thankfully, in 2000, conductor Arturo Tamayo and the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg began recording these works for Timpani Records, a French label. Over the past decade, five discs have been released, now collected in a handy box set. Of the 23 works presented, only a few have been recorded before. The fifth disc includes Achorripsis (1957) for ensemble rather than orchestra. As it is out on disc already, one wonders why it was included. That quibble aside, this is an important collection, very well recorded and performed. Tamayo is a fine, intelligent conductor who performs a great deal of contemporary music all around Europe.

Xenakis’s seminal scores, Metastaseis (1954) and Pithoprakta (1956), have long been available on disc through reissues of early recordings. This new one is a revelation, not only for the pristine quality but for the assurance of the string players, who now very well know how to perform the glissandi, steely non-vibrato, and other extended techniques that earlier musicians struggled with. Hiketides (1964) is a little-known orchestral suite derived from incidental music for the Aeschylus tragedy The Suppliants, and is a fascinating mixture of textural music and archaic-sounding modal passages.

The majority of the works recorded for this set date from the 1980s and 1990s. Most are scored for full orchestra, although Syrmos (1959) and Shaar (1983) are for strings alone, and Akrata (1965) is for winds. Two are concertante works for piano, dazzlingly performed by the young Japanese pianist Hiroaki Ooï: Synaphaï (1969), where the piano part is infamously written on 10 staves, and Erikhthon (1974). The other work in this set featuring soloists is Aïs (1980), written for the extraordinary voice of Spyros Sakkas, jumping between baritone and falsetto. He is heard along with a solo percussion part ably performed by Béatrice Daudin. This work opens the set, and is truly evocative and emotionally gripping. The latest pieces included in the set date from 1991: Roaï, Kyania and Krinoïdi. An extraordinary year! Even more amazing is the variety of character and material between these works. While Xenakis was at that time already suffering from ill health, it certainly does not show in these forceful, sophisticated, beautiful works.

In listening through all this music, various strands of the composer’s thought and expression surface; some — like the glissando textures, the layered polyrhythms, or the modal melodies harmonized in blocks — reappear. Others appear then submerge, giving rise to new ideas. The evolution from one orchestral score to the next is quite organic, and the visceral intensity of the music remains constant. Try listening chronologically as well as following the order presented on the discs.

What is most apparent, in the end, is that all his life Xenakis drew extraordinary inspiration from the symphony orchestra. The important contribution he made to the genre can start to be understood and appreciated with this fine box set.

S. C. Eckhardt-Gramatté - The Six Piano Sonatas

Marc-André Hamelin

Centrediscs CMCCD 16611

Outside Canadian music circles where her legacy lives on in a prestigious music competition, the colourful name of Sophie-Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté (1899-1974) might not be particularly well known. But rest assured, this woman led an equally colourful life as performer, composer and pedagogue. Born in Moscow, she entered the Paris Conservatory at age eight, studying piano and violin, and went on to a successful concert career on both instruments. Later, two marriages brought her to Barcelona, Berlin, Vienna, and finally to Winnipeg where she settled in 1953 when her second husband Ferdinand Eckhardt became the director of the Winnipeg Art Gallery. There she broke new ground as a teacher and composer, her contemporary style very much steeped in the romantic tradition. Among her compositions are six piano sonatas, written between 1923 and 1952 – and who better to perform this technically challenging music than piano titan Marc-André Hamelin? This two CD Centrediscs set is a re-issue of an Altarus recording from 1991.

These sonatas, covering a thirty year period, display a wealth of contrasting styles. The first, written in 1923, pays homage to the Baroque period – think 1920s neo-classicism. Conceived as a two-part invention, the mood is buoyantly optimistic, and Hamelin easily meets the technical demands required to bring it off convincingly. Considerably more subjective is the second sonata, completed only a year later. In four movements, the piece aptly describes Eckhardt-Gramatté’s emotional state over a two year period, from the dark days in Berlin during the Great War to the more cheerful time when she and her first husband, artist Walter Gramatté settled in Spain.

The mercurial nature of these sonatas, with their ever-changing moods presents no challenge to Hamelin. The vivacious finale from the fifth sonata is handled as deftly as the languorous Nocturne of the Sonata No.4.

Eckhardt-Gramatté’s music might not be to everyone’s taste. Some might find it too strident, while others, too deeply-rooted in late romanticism. Nevertheless, she occupies a unique place in 20th century music, and this set is a fine tribute to a composer who undoubtedly deserves wider recognition.

Mathieu Lussier - Passages

Pentaedre; Louise Lessard; Claudia Schaetzle; Fraser Jackson

ATMA ACD2 2657

Bassoonist and composer Mathieu Lussier’s compositions here feature wind instruments and piano in various combinations, some conventional and others unusual. Lussier writes fluently and eclectically for winds in solo and chamber music that has won support of major performers. His works align with the French neoclassical woodwind tradition, and add distinctive touches. I particularly like his Sextet for wind quintet and contrabassoon, a concise three-movement work in which the contrabassoon provides both weight and wit!

Lussier plays and conducts early music, and a baroque influence is noticeable. It shows up in harmonic progressions and in the presence of the siciliano and chaconne, for example. Also, there are popular elements along with the baroque; after all, repeated chord progressions in pop songs can be compared to the ground bass which appears in the last movement of the Sextet and in Passages for bassoon and piano. In the White Rock Sonata syncopation provides a rhythmic spark to the earlier style.

The latter two works show Lussier himself to be an expressive and technically facile bassoon soloist. I am also particularly taken with clarinettist Martin Carpentier’s performance of the Introduction and Sicilienne. In fact the wind soloists are all of high calibre, including also flautist Danièle Bourget, oboe d’amore player Normand Forget, alto saxophonist Claudia Schaetzle, French horn player Louis-Philippe Marsolais, and contrabassoonist Fraser Jackson. Finally, Louise Lessard’s exemplary pianism not only accompanies but periodically steers well-paced and convincing interpretations.

PRES Revisited: Józef Patkowski in Memorium

Various Artists

Bolt Records DUX 0812/13 www.boltrecords.pl

Fascinating in its bravado, this set joins one CD of 1960s and 1970s recordings of important musique concrète by five Polish composers with another CD of acoustic improvisations on these themes by three British and two Polish players. The result not only captures cerebral variants of the compositions but also affirms the originality of the sounds created in the days of bulky tape recorders and thick coaxial cables.

Honouring Józef Patkowski (1929-2005), co-founder of the Polish Radio Experimental Studio (PRES) in 1957 and its director for 28 years, the original recordings revisit the musical freedom offered by PRES during those Cold War years. For instance Krzysztof Penderecki’s Psalmus (1961) uses electronic filtering and flanges to deconstruct vowels and consonants initially created by the bel canto gurgles and quivering yodels of male and female singers. John Tilbury’s contemporary piano version is more chromatic, with vibrating and strumming strings resonating on top of basso keyboard rumbles. After the tune reaches satisfactory linearity, he shatters the mood by shrilling a lifeguard’s whistle.

Or compare Eugeniusz Rudnik’s 1967 recording of his Dixi with cellist Mikolaj Palosz’s reimagining of it four decades later. Originally a tape collage, the performance swells to forte as dissonant, processed delays almost visually pulsate then dissolves in gradually less audible undulations. Taking an opposite approach, Palosz’s variant mixes strident, spiccato string squeaks at different tempos, reaching raucous volume that sound as if the strings are being splintered as he plays and concluding with string popping fading into dissolving shrills.

Appropriately the final track is a Hommage to Bogusław Schaeffer’s Symphony. Here Tilbury, Palosz, violinist Phil Durrant, guitarist Maciej Śledziecki and percussionist Eddie Prévost combine to coalesce stretched string glissandi, snare ratcheting and cymbal clangs plus faux-romantic piano chording into an ever-shifting performance, which like the Polish composer’s work is both aleatory and multiphonic.

Live at Grossman’s

Jeff Healey Band

Convexe ERN 28002 www.conveyorcanada.com

Phew! Wotta Scorcher. That time-honoured Brit tabloid newspaper headline neatly sums up the inaugural release of the Convexe label, first in a series of unreleased Healey band CDs and DVDs culled from audio and video archives. With power trio regulars Joe Rockman on bass, drummer Tom Stephen plus on many cuts guitarist Pat Rush, the Canadian icon – stunningly proficient with guitar and voice - establishes a blistering pace from the start, storming through Alvin Lee’s I’m Going Home and maintaining the pace with Killing Floor, one of two Howlin’ Wolf classics that Healey jokes are just part of “another session of sonic torture!”

Chinatown venue Grossman’s has equally venerable status, one reason its hosting the Sunday jam sessions spawned the Healey band in 1985.

Today its blues and rock Mecca rep has faded, but this outing 17 years ago – one shared with local rockers The Phantoms - is fully energized though the crowd seems thin. The session was actually a rehearsal for Healey’s fourth studio album “Cover To Cover.”

The Albert King hit As The Years Go Passing By shows Healey’s skills at their best, raw voice effortlessly locked onto the beat then a launch of a typically aching solo on guitar - once again you’re reminded of how comfortable he is in blues, rock and jazz, resulting in a public appeal that was unquenchable until his death in 2008.

Vintage jukebox hit Ain’t That Just Like A Woman gets thrusting treatment, followed by a rare Beatles tune, the Lennon-penned, melancholic Yer Blues with passionate Healey vocal and general ensemble fury setting the mood ablaze and then it’s back to the Wolf for Who’s Been Talking with Michael Pickett’s vigorous harmonica.

Robert Johnson’s Crossroads has plenty of jump, as does Elmore James’ Dust My Broom, this chestnut all urgent wailing, pleading crescendos and bouncing beat. Then, unpredictably, comes a smartly done extended encore with Dylan’s All Along The Watchtower, more searing guitar work, rock lyrics and realization that a memorable hour has concluded with a grand flourish.

1910

Les Doigts de l’Homme

Alma ACD61412 www.almarecords.com

Les Doigts de l’Homme – guitarists Olivier Kikteff, Yannick Alcocer, and Benoit “Binouche” Convert, and acoustic bassist Tanguy Blum – is an amazing French band whose music is now available locally thanks to Alma records. Florid guitar lines, interesting solos, a great groove, and tight ensemble playing means these gentlemen could even make a C major scale sound inspirational if asked to do so!

Django Reinhardt was born in 1910, thus the name of this tribute CD. The band covers a number of the guitar legend's tunes like Minor Swing, interspersed with some classic numbers like Irving Berlin's Blue Skies, and originals by band member Kikteff. Each track is a work of aural art. The upbeat cover of the Kern/Hammerstein song Ol' Man River is a surprising success with its punchy shots and zippy tempo. Reinhardt’s Swing 48 features Kikteff’s technical wizardry and Convert’s contrasting lush tonal quality in their solo work. The chromatic melody lines of Kikteff’s Niglo l Waltz are reminiscent of French musette accordion music, one of the many influences on Reinhardt's own music. The scratchy vinyl record sound on the final track is a nice closing touch.

The liner notes describe the band's high regard of Django's music. “He is a perpetual source of inspiration and we are grateful that his music has made its way into our lives today.” And this exactly how I feel about Les Doigts de l’Homme's “1910” too!

Miles Davis - Live at Montreux 1973-1991

Miles Davis

Eagle Eye Media EE391949

The pleasing shock of seeing jazz genius Miles Davis up close and personal at Montreux in 1973 in striking colour – lip-licking in splendid white jacket, huge Afro, big shades, glittering vest, blue cravat – is matched by the misery of seeing him 18 years later on the same Swiss stage – frail, old, downcast, positively drab in demeanour with playing to match.

All of which makes this DVD, drawn from the archives that generated a 20-CD release in 2002, a valuable document indeed. On the 10 long tracks no line-up is the same, no line-up featured ever recorded in a studio, there’s no remixing, no editing.

Mind you, the lead-up is odd. With roadies on stage there’s around two minutes of shuffling, hints of percussion, an anonymous squawk. A minute later staccato trumpet sounds and instrument fiddling. At six, signs there may be a band at work. All is forgotten when the group, a youthful Dave Liebman on soprano sax and Al Foster drumming, rumbles into action for a very lengthy improv on Ife, Miles conjuring sounds with horn and wah-wah pedal from his recent groundbreaking offerings on seminal albums “Bitches Brew” and “In A Silent Way,” using nods and hand signs to instruct sidemen, dabbling on Yamaha organ and creating ethereal magic over a four-note bass riff.

It’s good, enhanced by the superb, superior visual clarity that easily captures the sweat on the master’s face. Davis retired for six years in 1975 through ill-health but returned to Montreux in 1984 dressed in a sort of white sailor suit with Bob Berg on soprano and guitarist John Scofield. His trumpet was in fine shape, at times ferocious, on Speak: That’s What Happened. 1985 had similar personnel save for stiff-armed Vince Wilburn, Davis’ nephew, on drums, quickly followed in 1986 with banks of synths, alto sax smoothie David Sanborn actually blowing hard and young guitarist Robben Ford thrashing blue notes on Jean-Pierre as the master delivered clean, quick lines. The next year’s Heavy Metal Prelude was a tedious vehicle for percussionist Marilyn Mazur but alto Kenny Garrett was there and in 1989 for a potent big bass punch courtesy of Foley McCreary and tenor Rick Margitza on Jo Jo. 1990’s Hannibal had fetching, understated Davis and raging Garrett.

The gloomy 1991 takes three months before Davis’ death originated in “Sketches Of Spain” (The Pan Piper, Solea ) with over-packed stage and music collapsing into cacophony. It was hardly a fitting epitaph for a life of musical influence and revolution, whose constant was change and whose indelible mark will forever be clear on bop, cool jazz, modal jazz, electric jazz, funk and jazz fusion. The disc, however, is a must-have.

Welcome back Jane Fair and Rosemary Galloway, last heard together nine years ago. Their new one - Jane Fair Rosemary Galloway Quintet - Playin’ Jane (JFRGQ-002 www.rosemarygalloway.com) – has nine briskly-paced originals (five by Galloway, four by Fair) artfully executed alongside trumpeter Lina Allemano, pianist Nancy Walker and drummer Nick Fraser. Fair, a rare commodity on record, is adept on soprano and tenor sax, confidently setting the mood on her spirited title track opener, a harbinger of bright, unusual pieces propelled by resonant Galloway bass and lively drums. Highlighted throughout are Walker’s thrusting solos and comping as well as Allemano’s impassioned avant garde notions that complement her comrades’ bop inclinations. The Thelonious Monk-inspired Green Roofs features intricate exchanges and potent playing by soprano and trumpet, while Circles And Lines initially echoes his classic Misterioso before segueing into minor blues. Elsewhere, expect the unexpected on a terrific album celebrating the deep pool of Toronto-based talent.

The Heavyweights Brass Band - Don’t Bring Me Down (www.heavyweightsbrassband.com). This debut disc deserves the extensive air time it’s garnered this summer. After all, who can resist a contemporary group showcasing a sousaphone, courtesy of Rob Teehan, especially if it’s not just occupying rhythmic roles? Here’s 13 tracks, six mostly upbeat originals alternating with tunes referencing popsters like Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson, Beyonce, and Stratford’s Beeb, so think reincarnated Shuffle Demons. Trombonist Chris Butcher, trumpeter Jon Challenor and saxman Paul Metcalfe wail to great effect over tough, battering drums from Lowell Whitty. The ensemble’s tight, simple emphatic riffs abound and despite unvarying structures, the entirely unnecessary Cuban rapper and soulful blues singer (and bandsmen vocals) this is a most entertaining outing that updates vintage New Orleans marching combos.

Quebec pianist François Bourassa has enjoyed a stellar three-decade career yet his veteran team always plays with youthful urgency, as you quickly gather from Isola, the first cut on François Bourassa Quartet - Idiosyncrasie (Effendi FND111 www.francoisbourassa.com). It’s one of the leader’s seven (of eight) compositions that showcases slick unison play, bracing tenorman André Leroux, ever-churning bassist Guy Boisvert and stimulating drummer Philippe Melanson, followed by the long, mysteriously moody Haiku-Darmstadt that offers clipped phrasing, seductive piano-sax dialogue and choppy odd-meter beat. Then comes a three-part suite, among which the stirring Pressiert bests elegant balladry with the foursome consumed by focused urgency. The session guarantees both pleasure and curiosity – witness the closing Chant Du P’tit Gny.

Julia Cleveland, who studied jazz at Mohawk College after classical percussion at U of T, is Hogtown’s heir to a new-ish tradition of female driving drummers such as Cindy Blackman and Susie Ibarra. Her debut jazz record is the melodious Julia Cleveland 5uintet - Tumble, Stumble (JC52011 www.juliacleveland.com), which also headlines saxist Kelly Jefferson, bass Ross MacIntyre, pianist Adrian Farrugia and Mike Malone on trumpet and flugelhorn. Its 11 tunes and charts are by Cleveland, who more than holds her own in this well-integrated group. Farrugia often steals the limelight with smart, sometimes lavish statements, particularly effective on electric piano, but Cleveland defines the pulse, which underpins everything from the chirpy title tune to the elegiac Obbink. Malone is cool and clever, Jefferson powerfully inventive. Going Back is a tribute to late bandleader Dave McMurdo, who taught at Mohawk.

Bernie Senensky has long been a major player on the Canadian jazz scene but somehow remains undervalued, which is outrageous – he’s always a fount of fresh ideas, an assured performer with incredible technique who honours jazz tradition. Thus on Senensky-Perla-Riley - Invitation (P M Records PMR-033 www.PMRecords.com) the pianist demonstrates his mastery of melodic, harmonic and improvisational possibilities, starting with two of his own – the hard-charging Come To Me and a potent Blues For E.J. Six standards adorn this get-together with bassist Gene Perla and drummer Ben Riley, with notably subtle Senensky approaches to Old Folks and Young And Foolish. Perla scores with his stylish Bill’s Waltz and the leader closes with a rousing Bud Lines that would have the late piano legend smiling.

Interception is a new band comprising cousins Marko Ostojic (piano) and Uros Stamenkovic (drums) whose heritage is Macedonian, bass Justin Gray, percussionist Altaf Bwana Moto Vellani and tenor saxophonist Sal Rosselli, who often declaims à la Argentinean firebrand Gato Barbieri. Their debut disc Timing and Distance (www.interceptionmusic.com) starts modestly but improves dramatically with the tune Interception, the first of three Ostojic compositions, in which the tenor storms over heavy, tumultuous rhythm. Then it’s one of three modern jazz rarities, Phineas Newborn’s Sugar Ray, like much here a vehicle for Rosselli to range widely before the pianist shows off his imaginative independence. Nomad wobbles before Rosselli tears into double-time over thrusting grooves, then Ostojic counters with more shrewd notions. The album impresses, if only lasting 46 minutes.

A highlight of the international calendar, the Guelph Jazz Festival (GJF), September 7 to 11, has maintained its appeal to both the adventurous and the curious over 18 years. It has done so mixing educational symposia with populist outdoor concerts, featuring performers ranging from established masters to experimenters from all over the world. For example, American alto saxophonist/flautist Henry Threadgill appears at the River Run Centre on September 10 with his Zooid quintet. A frequent GJF visitor bassist William Parker is featured in at least four ensembles; twice with Toronto vocalist Christine Duncan’s Element Choir Project on September 9 at St. George’s Anglican Church and September 10 at the outdoor Jazz Tent; on September 11 as part of an all-star quartet in Co-operators Hall; and in the same spot on September 8, with pianist Paul Plimley and drummer Gerry Hemingway. Sharing the bill is Tilting, a quartet led by Montreal bassist Nicolas Caloia. Meanwhile Danish saxophonist Lotte Anker is part of an afternoon performance September 10 at Co-operators Hall with two Americans, pianist Craig Taborn and drummer Gerald Cleaver.

Supplely slinky, bouncingly rhythmic and unmistakable original, Zooid’s This Brings Us To Volume II (Pi Recordings PI 36 www.pirecordings.com) clearly delineates Threadgill’s compositional smarts expressed by the band. Many of the tracks depend on the contrasts engendered by mixing Liberty Ellman’s nylon-string guitar licks with the snorts from Jose Davila’s gutbucket trombone or surging tuba plus cross-sticking and rolls from drummer Elliot Humberto Kavee. The most characteristic track is Polymorph, with a sardonic melody that suggests Kurt Weill’s Berlin period. Here Threadgill’s astringent saxophone timbres are first framed by snapping frails from Ellman and later arrive at contrasting double counterpoint with the thick pop of Stomu Takeishi’s bass guitar.

Floating Islands (ILK 162 CD www.ilkmusic.com) demonstrates the cohesive skills of the Anker/Taborn/Cleaver group. Recorded at the Copenhagen Jazz Festival, the selections demonstrate the trio’s extrasensory perception. With Anker rotating among soprano, alto and tenor saxophones, the band divides according to the improvisation; sections are devoted to saxophone-piano, saxophone-drum or piano-drum interaction. Hard reed buzzes bring out cascading choruses from Taborn for instance, while the pianist’s unconventional key clicks are met by the saxophonist’s arching split tones and tongue flutters plus swirling cymbals and snare backbeats. Sometimes the narrative becomes a mass of chiaroscuro patterns from all, with the palpable tension finally breached by Anker’s chirping tones and Taborn’s glissandi. Backwards River is an extended example of this, as galloping runs from Taborn arrive after an exposition of gritty reed tones. Before the climax, involving Cleaver knitting rat-tat-tats and tom-tom rolls into a forceful solo, the sax and piano sounds surge from gentle swing to jagged altissimo intersections rife with polyphonic smears.

Combination spark plug and spiritual guide William Parker’s gigs at GJF 2011 are with a vocal chorus and two instrumental groupings. Winter Sun Crying recorded with Munich’s nine-piece ICI Ensemble (Neos Jazz Neos 41008 www.neos-music.com) demonstrates the skills he brings to groups of any size or instrumentation. The CD captures a 15-part suite which waxes and wanes between legato and atonal contributions. Parker’s contributions on piccolo trumpet, double reeds, shakuhachi and bass are integrated within the composition. As band members move throughout from aleatoric solos to tutti and contrapuntal passages, he adds walking to keyboardist Martin Wolfrum’s precise chording, while under both, Sunk Pöschl’s drums clatter and pop; or lets his pinched reed contrast with upturned harmonies from ICI’s three woodwinds and trombone. The ensemble never nestles in any style or genre. Roger Jannotta’s faux-baroque piccolo decorations are as germane to the performance as Markus Heinze’s guttural baritone sax snorts, while oscillated processes from Gunnar Geisse’s laptop or trombonist Christofer Varner’s sampler are responsible for the composition’s outer-space-like undertone. Meanwhile the downward shifting of Johanna Varner’s spiccato cello lines join with Wolfrum’s dynamic chording to propel the horns away from dissonance towards linearism. The finale, Let’s Change the World, not only refers back to the head, but weaves gradually diminishing string scrubs, piano key pummels and alternately breathy or splintering reed tones into an echoing statement.

Another bassist/composer is Nicolas Caloia, whose Quartet CD Tilting (www.nicolascaloia.net), is a microcosm of Montreal’s scene. Completed by saxophone/flutist Jean Derome, pianist Guillaume Dostaler and percussionist Isaiah Ceccarelli, the disc highlights the bassist’s approach. While Caloia’s connective ostinato is felt throughout, this high-energy showcase gives everyone space. Impressive on each of his horns, Derome’s bass flute adds appropriately breathy tones, evolving contrapuntally with Dostaler’s comping on Stare. Meanwhile the husky textures Derome propels from baritone saxophone make Locked a stop-time swinger, especially when Ceccarelli’s solo folds flams, shuffles and ratamacues together. Derome’s singsong alto phrasing is all over the other two pieces, both of which feature brief but attentive solos from Caloia, whose string slaps and thumps concentrate the action. The pianist’s languid note cascades are showcased spectacularly on Safety where he interrupts Derome’s forays into false registers with an interlude of harmonized chording and rubato key fanning.

As this group of sound explorers join many others of similar quality during the annual GJF, it’s not surprising that this little festival has reached satisfying maturity without the compromises that impinge on many larger celebrations.

Second Nature

Minor Empire

World Trip Records WTR001 (www.minorempire.net)

All my initial scepticism immediately disintegrated with the first track of Minor Empire's debut release “Second Nature.” No second rate bad world music here. Leader/electric guitarist/programming guru Ozan Boz has carefully eliminated any such occurrences with his careful combinations of Western pop sounds, jazz improvisations, and Turkish traditional music and his superb arrangements. Toss in band members Ozgu Ozman (vocals), Michael Occhipinti (electric guitar), Chris Gartner (bass) and Debashis Sinha (percussion), Ismail Hakki Fencloglu (oud) and Didem Basar (kanun) and the result is a smart band creating intriguing sounds and melodies set to a backdrop of funky beats.

Especially noteworthy is Zuluf Dokulmus Yuz. Ozman’s sultry vocals weave effortlessly through a tapestry of musical influences. What a great idea is to have short interludes based on makams with catchy titles like Ozan's Psyche and Selim's Anatomy (featuring the amazing guest clarinettist Selim Sesler) which allow the instrumentalists to solo and shine.

Unfortunately there are no translations for the lyrics. I learned a long time ago in my band playing days that the listener wants to know the meanings of the lyrics. But the production values are high and the sound quality superb. Fall is the time to get back to work and back to school. There is no better backdrop than the worldbeat sounds of “Second Nature” to get you back into the groove.

Gamma Knife

Maria Kasstan

Independent (www.myspace.com/mariakasstan)

I’m almost ashamed to admit that it has been a very long time since I have heard someone of my generation producing a folk CD that rails against the establishment, but Maria Kasstan has good reason. Her partner of 25 years died as a result of a heart attack right outside of police headquarters. Allegedly, the officers who discovered him assumed the man to be homeless and neglected to administer CPR. Her sorrow and anger are deeply felt by the listener in the last few tracks of the recording. The tracks are arranged as a story of their life together, celebrating the fullness of the good times and grieving the loss with a voice both strong and tender. Upon first hearing, I absolutely fell in love with the first track, Act of Love. Kasstan is known for her work as a pollinator advocate or “seed lady.” This song is a catchy, happy tribute to Mother Nature, with a playfully whimsical arrangement by producer Bob Wiseman... I couldn’t stop singing it all day long! The simple joys continue with Beets in the Cellar and the romantic Didn’t Wait for the Moon. The poignant Saint Jude brings the listener’s awareness back to the stark contrasts existing in Toronto neighborhoods. This artist has not forgotten her beginnings as a folk singer in 1960s Yorkville and reminds us that even as grannies we can still have a powerful voice for change.

Skin Tight

The Nylons

Linus Entertainment 270134

The a capella vocal group The Nylons has been around since 1979 and although all but one of the original members has moved on, the group's trademark upbeat sound is fully intact on its 15th recording. The mix of funky rhythms, jazzy harmonies and quirky mash-ups is due in part to the addition of Toronto-based group-singing luminary, Dylan Bell. As producer and arranger of most of the 12 tracks, and even guest scatter on one, Bell is like the Fifth Nylon (as George Martin was known as the Fifth Beatle) and a big contributor to the success of “Skin Tight.” Of course, the four singers - Claude Morrison (the original), Tyrone Gabriel, Garth Mosbaugh and Gavin Hope - do the heavy lifting. Whether called on for vocal percussion, tight harmonies, scat solos or beautiful crooning, all the singers do their part with skill and joy. The repertoire is largely covers from a variety of eras and genres and while some stay relatively true to the originals with voices substituting for the instruments, others get fresh reworkings. Spider-Man gets a clever spin as it ranges between funk, swing and rap, with a solo courtesy of bass Tyrone Gabriel, while Teach Me Tonight sees lead singer Gavin Hope essentially doing homage to Al Jarreau's version over a Four Freshman-like doo-wop accompaniment. The closing track Gone Too Soon, with its Gene Peurlingesque arrangement, is a beautiful tribute to both its originator Michael Jackson and one of The Nylons founding members, the late Denis Simpson.

I Walked Into the Silver Darkness

Mark Wingfield; Kevin Kastning

greydisc GDR 3508 (www.markwingfield.com)

This is a collection of original pieces for guitars. I found myself amazed at the range of guitar voices produced. A very extended palette of sound is due to the odd variety of guitars being played. There are conventional 6-string guitars but also we hear a 14-string contraguitar, 12-string extended baritone guitar, heavily processed electric guitars and even fretless guitar. The sounds had me searching through the liner notes wondering what I was hearing. Wingfield and Kastning are surely pushing the envelope with this disc. According to the liner notes, an “open mind” is required to appreciate these compositions, which are all improvised in the recording studio by two extremely gifted guitarists who had not played together until the time of this recording.

Sonically, the recording is reminiscent of an ecm release, a mix of acoustic and electric sounds with a generous amount of spatial enhancement surrounding the sound. Its multi-tracked, or layered construction, is assembled in an interesting fashion, with some sounds very forward while some are quite distant. It isn't very natural sounding in that the reverberation times differ drastically, with very dry acoustic guitars often surrounded by heavily treated reverberant electric tones.

As a guitarist, I am forever amazed at the compositional aspect of the instrument. I learned how to play with a very tattered Pete Seeger method book about 40 years ago and learned the early American styles of flat-picking and finger picking, using a handful of basic chords, and have had a lifetime of pleasure working in that idiom. For most of what I play, I really only need a guitar that has the first five or so frets. When I hear “modern” guitarists who are pioneering sounds and musical textures, I am in awe of how they can express themselves by travelling through every region of the instrument, often with what seems like effortless abandon. This collection of original instrumental pieces will impress all guitarists, no doubt.