Various Artists [Melodies Of Love]

A surprise choice, i don't usually go for this sort of music, but this moved me today, the music on this disc is a mixed bag, some i don't like, but others i find rather inspirational, this is the first time i've listened to these discs, so it's also the first time i've listened to certain of these tracks, and not particularly being an 'easy listening' advocate, other tracks i haven't really studied close.

I love the Jazz influences of these tracks, especially the female singers, there's always a gem to be admired and loved if you put aside your pre-conceived ideas of any type of music, and really listen with your heart.

The disc booklet cover is great, a nice shot, even though some of the tracks are pushing things a bit as regards the title of this double disc set.

So the track which moved me the most is number 6 on the first disc, Fever by Peggy Lee, subconsciously i've heard it before, but this is the first time i've actually listened to it, i like the sparseness of the instrumentation, just an upright deep double bass, and a drummer playing with fingers/palms, a great innovation, the drummer really does make the song stand out, Peggy Lee has a sexy voice, the track sizzles and smooches, you can almost hear the sweat trickle down, nearly gave me a fever!.

You can hear Peggy Lee sing this song live on YouTube.

Saint-Saens Violin Concerto 3 [Dumay/ Yazaki-Orchestre Philharmonique De Monte Carlo]

I won this disc on an Ebay auction, i think for £7 [i put a bid of roughly £35 on it!], an absolute bargain considering how good it is, i never knew Dumay had made such a disc until i saw it, and i haven't seen another on Ebay since, even though it's now reissued cheaply [and visually it's reissued cheap too!], the original booklet has a fantastic photo of Augustin by Roberto Estrada, perfectly balanced with nice graphics in pleasing colours, making the disc so much more of a treasure to own than it already is.

The Saint-Saens Concerto is not a virtuoso warhorse, or full of glittery fireworks, rather its chief aim is to delight the ear, and it bristles with an array of gorgeous tunes and a variety of colours, an aural tropical fish tank!, there's something new to catch the ear every time you listen to it.

I enjoyed all three movements, but i suppose i'm a sucker for that lovely slow middle movement, what a disarmingly simple yet profound tune it is!, the coda is beautiful, the violin goes into a soft cadenza towards the end [6:23], and then comes this magical coda, where the violin can sound like a cross between a flute and a clarinet [7:01], a truly satisfying pastoral heaven.

You can hear this slow movement on YouTube, with Silvia Marcovici as the soloist.

David Murray [Ming's Samba]

A disc i hired out from my local library, must be 17 years ago now, and it took a while to 'get it', but once i understood what Murray was trying to do, another world opened up for me, of course i bought my own copy, this isn't the Library's!.

On this listen track 1 'Ming's Samba' just blew me away, named after his wife Ming, it's of course a samba, Ed Blackwell on Drums keeps hitting what sounds like a tin [not sure what it should be called], to give it a slight latin feel, his drums are also superbly caught by the recording, and his variety of drums/technique make him endlessly fascinating to listen to, Ed Blackwell died in 1992, sorely missed, on this track i most of all enjoyed the main tune played straight by Murray [0:13-1:17], big fat tenor sax, slight effective warble here and there, and then Murray proceeds to play a bunch of variations, easy differences to begin with, but slowly becoming more complex, gradually breaking down the tonal elements of Jazz, and moving towards the atonal, but i can always follow the main melody, even if it strays far from the theme, Murray takes us through a series of scowls, squeals, wails, squeaks etc, all employed with the tune in mind, the return of the theme by Murray at the end is a magical moment.

Just listen to Murray play 'Morning Song' live at the Village Vanguard on YouTube, you'll get an idea how he states a simple tune, then takes it all apart in a bunch of ever increasingly complex variations.

Tchaikovsky - Piano Trio [The Moscow Rachmaninov Trio]

The Moscow Rachmaninov Trio are new to me, they have been around for 15 years, and like any professional trio that work together, they get really good, their understanding can get telepathic, so a great thumbs up to them.

Isn't the booklet cover on this disc just magic?, it's a painting by Nikolai Alexandrovich Sergeyev, called The Secret Garden, looks like at dusk/twilight, deep in an overgrown garden, a lake with half lights shrouded in green mystery, the highlights on the lake dazzle, this is how front cover booklets should be.

On to the music!, Tchaikovsky was loath to write in the Piano Trio genre, but what he produced here is a masterpiece, and a clever structure too, a sort of Requiem to the memory of Rubinstein, it has virtuoso piano writing, and is in a sad minor key, on this disc the individual variations are not cued, so it's harder to find a favourite variation, but that's a small complaint.

The variations have an abundant wealth of invention, Tchaikovsky explores almost every avenue of how to present this same tune in very different ways, and i enjoyed this sheer variety today, i really liked variation 3 the most today [2:41-3:33 on track 6], a rolling Piano tune, while the Cello and Violin pizzicato the beat, very memorable.

Here's Lang Lang, Vadim Repin, and Mischa Maisky playing the opening variations on YouTube, the third variation is from 1:28 to 2:14.

Ravel - String Quartet [Carmina Quartet]

This is a Quartet that i've only recently come to really love, it's taken time with listening to this piece with different Quartets, mainly the Melos Quartet, of course it's very French, all of its ideas have that soundworld feel to it, it transports me to France.

The Carmina Quartet was formed in 1984, and they have recently celebrated their 25th anniversary together, they are real quality, and they do this Quartet justice.

I have come to love the first two movements, and i was especially moved by the second movement Assez Vif Et Bien Rythme, meaning lively with Rhythm, pizzicato strings start us off [0:00-0:15], and then the sweetness of the first violin comes in [0:16], this is such an endearing tune, the tenderest moment in this movement, the strings go back and forth between bowing and plucking, this is full of inventive ideas and is so stimulating to the ear, and it's a phenomenal feature of the whole movement, a new quieter sorrowful tune starts [1:51], and the first violin starts this tender wistful lament [2:38], and it turns nostalgic and haunting [3:28], the pizzicato effects gradually work their way back in, and the cello starts up the sole pizzicato in the bass [4:46], the viola then the violins join in, and we're back to the opening again, with some strong forte pizzicato [5:10], some nice bustling energy at the end [5:47-6:08], with one last forte pizzicato on the cello along with the violins a split second later [6:11-6:12], a tour de force of what you can do with a String Quartet, powerful and memorable.

Here's the Hagen Quartet playing this movement on YouTube.

Schubert - Piano Sonata 21 [Perahia]

The first time i ever heard the opening of this Sonata i fell in love with Schubert, it was Alfred Brendel playing, in my mind the greatest Piano Sonata ever written, yep better than any of Beethoven's, the structure of the first movement is perfection.

Composed only a few months before his death, this Sonata is Schubert's final crowning achievement in this form, he composed prolifically in his final year, i'm sure he knew that he was going to die, and wished to leave a legacy of greatness behind.

Upon this hearing, what can i say about the very opening?, words are a poor substitute for music, the Sonata begins with the most sublime and noble theme, played with the utmost delicacy and tenderness, Perahia is a bit more matter of fact than Brendel, but his interpretation has sensible tempi, which sound just right, nice legato playing, and a sense of forward momentum, he plays the exposition repeat, which makes this movement last for nearly 20 minutes, but it's a heavenly length.

The booklet cover is a nice shot by Ken Schles, showing the inner strings and working of the Piano, and the disc reveals the inner workings of Perahia's mind and fingers too!.

Here's Brendel playing this Sonata on YouTube.

Bruckner - Symphony 4 [Harnoncourt-Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra]

Bruckner's fourth symphony, dubbed the 'Romantic', is probably his easiest Symphony to get into, a great place to start, lasting just over an hour, and takes concentrated listening, unlike say Beethoven, Bruckner's Symphonies can sound samey, it takes patience to differentiate them all.

The Austrian Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducts a live recording, you wouldn't know it, the Dutch audience are truly quiet, applause at the end has been recorded out, so no clapping, maybe there's a little extra hesitation between movements as you would expect in a live recording.

On this listen, i rather like the Horns and Brass fanfares, Bruckner loves extensive use of the Brass section, he uses blocks of sound and repetition to form his Symphonies, at the very beginning we have a swirl of murmuring strings, out of which are heard the horn calls, a great start to a Symphony, also in the scherzo third movement, a similar effect is used, the Horns quickly turn to Trumpets, and both argue at each other, the Horn / Trumpet calls keep coming back again and again, to thrilling effect, especially in forte passages, Harnoncourt's interpretation has great power, very satisfying.

Here's Harnoncourt conducting this Symphony on YouTube.

Robert Mazurek [Badlands]

Rather than a Robert Mazurek record, this is almost a duo led group with Eric Alexander, as you can see from the booklet cover, however in the track writing credits it's Mazurek who penned four originals, and probably called the other tunes as well, and what a tight Bop session this is.

Recorded in of all places Edinburgh Scotland, on the Scottish label HEP Jazz, this is my first introduction to Robert Mazurek, he has a nice tone, strong fat sound, great soloing ideas, nice balladeering too, he uses a mute on a few of the numbers for variety as well, the Quintet becomes a great vehicle for the other musicians to show off their wares.

I so much enjoyed track 5 'Badlands', the inspiration for the music is supposedly the Sioux ancestral homeland in the Dakotas, Trumpet and Sax play the funky theme tune, and then Mazurek goes off on his solo [1:10-2:33], building up a strong fierce intensity, his short solo is the most enjoyable part of this track, then it's Alexander's turn on Tenor Sax [2:36-5:18], his solo is thoughtful, but a bit muted, and then Randolph Tressler gets a solo on the Piano [5:18-7:12], again his solo seems a tad restrained, he doesn't use the treble notes much, doesn't seem to want to play loud and intense either, but it's an enjoyable solo nonetheless, and then Drummer George Fludas has a go [7:12-8:28], before Mazurek and Alexander come back in with the theme again, to take the track out to a satisfying fade.

Beethoven - String Quartet 7 [Lindsay String Quartet]

Along with Schubert's String Quartet 14, this is my favourite Quartet, the Lindsay String Quartet are a world class ensemble, and this recording is highly praised everywhere, the Quartet have now disbanded in 2005, they made this recording in the mid eighties i believe, they have now recorded another Beethoven cycle nearly twenty years later.

This Quartet was revolutionary when Beethoven first unleashed it to the world, people couldn't understand such forward looking music, a lot of people point to Beethoven's late Quartets as his most inner spiritual statements, but i prefer his mid to early Quartets [5 to 8].

I love the opening of this Quartet, it has an irresistible forward momentum, it starts off as if in mid sentence, coming out of nowhere, the Cello of Bernard Gregor-Smith plays that wonderful tune, and the first Violin of Peter Cropper takes up the tune fifteen seconds later, what really gets me is how this tune keeps coming back again and again, at 3:00 and again at 7:26, each time it initially sounds like it's going to be an exposition repeat, but Beethoven makes exciting variations, finally at the end, this tune comes back in power, by the whole Quartet playing forte at 10:09, a magical moment indeed.

Here's the Belcea String Quartet playing the first movement on YouTube.

Grieg - Piano Concerto [Tanyel/Burgos-London Symphony Orchestra]

Seta Tanyel is Armenian, she made a number of wonderful recordings for Collins Classics, sadly the company has discontinued recording and distributing, a great shame as they were such an enterprising record label, she has recorded for Hyperion and Chandos too.

I saw this disc second-hand on the internet, and quickly snapped it up, i haven't extensively listened to this disc, it's still fairly new in my library, but my initial impression is i like it a lot, another great cover shot, the graduated blue background makes the warmer colours of the face stand out, and that hair!.

I especially enjoyed the first movement, there's lots to enjoy here, lovely legato playing with the Bassoon accompanying [2:46-3:58], great use of the full keyboard in ascending figures at [5:06-5:37], lovely use of staccato scales at [6:23-7:03], especially the rapid fire descending down the keyboard [6:44-6:48], the solo cadenza starts at [8:59], i find that slow passages are played too slow, it's as if she's stopping to help us notice something extra beautiful here or there, but it impedes the flow of things, there's some tremendous growling bass passages played with forte, with exciting rippling lines at the end of the cadenza [10:42-12:06], it's so good to be able to examine this disc to discover what i find to be truly memorable, another asset to my collection.

Here's Valentina Lisitsa playing the first movement on YouTube.

Joh Yamada [Bluestone]

Joh Yamada is a name few have heard of in the western hemisphere, he recorded this session in New York in 1997, he mainly plays in his native Japan, where he is supposedly really big among Jazz lovers.

Sticking exclusively to Alto, his influences are Sonny Stitt and of course Charlie Parker, it's a fairly middle of the road record, he doesn't stray far from tonality, or go off on any oblique angles, sounds like he's from the old school of Jazz.

This is a disc that i bought while browsing the Jazz section in a record shop, i liked the cover so i bought it, at first i wasn't too impressed, it's just too average, it's taken me a long time to warm to this disc, each time i play it there's something to enjoy, it's far from a great album, but also it's far from an album that i would purge from my collection too.

I enjoyed the lovely beauty of track 5 'Never Let Me Go', but on this listen i was very impressed with track 6 'The Sacred Eyes', a Yamada original, after a bass solo by Rodney Whittaker, the piece takes of with a sharp hit of the drum by Clarence Penn on 0:54, a really nice effect indeed, later in the piece the saxophone returns after a piano solo by Cyrus Chestnut, and Chestnut's embellishments at 4:26-4:31 are very clever, Yamada doesn't possess that last ounce of wild abandon that would make him great, but this was very enjoyable.

Lalo - Symphonie Espagnole [Tetzlaff/ Pesek-Czech Philharmonic Orchestra]

Is it a Violin Concerto or not?, or maybe a Violin Symphony?, either way this is one of the most virtuosic pieces in the violin repertoire, full of Spanish flair and exuberance, a mini Opera with the violin as the Singer.

The German Christian Tetzlaff is a fine interpreter, overcoming every hurdle with ease, it's a very 'dancey' concerto, one in which the violinist should have happy fun playing.

I so much enjoyed the middle movement Intermezzo, it sounds so much like a huge guitar strumming, maybe a troubadour singing his song, it wonderfully pulsates with light and dark, fast and slow, on the whole dour, but one of Lalo's best tunes, thoroughly understanding the Spanish idioms he portrays, i love the coda, the music slows/quietens, and the violin and cor anglais have a call and response reminisce of the tune [starting around 5:25], the cor anglais is a perfect foil for the violin, a nostalgic moment of beauty.

Here's a YouTube clip of Leonidas Kovakos playing the third movement Intermezzo, the second and third movements are joined in this clip, so the Intermezzo doesn't start until 4:20.

Brahms - Violin Sonata 3 [Frank/Serkin]

Well this Sonata only appeared in my Blog eight days ago, but this is a different interpretation, plus it's so good to get another opinion on the same work, like looking at a gem from a different angle, you see another facet of this work.

Pamela Frank and Peter Serkin are a great partnesrship, they seem to have purposely looked at the unusual in this sonata, it's as if they decided to look at all the alternative possibilities, and then chose something different to say, i think theirs is a slightly darker/sombre interpretation than usual, however they are not too wayward, they have a fresh way of seeing things, the adagio second movement really is slow, but even here their conclusions are valid, and the results are worth more than a listen, i like these discoveries they made.

This time i enjoyed the first movement allegro, here Serkin's piano has a particular ringing tone to it, the recording seems to accentuate the bass in the piano, while at contrast Frank's violin favours the higher notes, making the most of the extremes of the instruments, already in a minor key, they add to it by creating dark rumblings in the slower passages, theirs is an intense reading, i really enjoyed this today.

Here's Oistrakh playing this Sonata on YouTube.

Schubert - Symphony 9 'The Great' [Marriner-Academy Of Saint Martin In The Fields]

Schubert's ninth is a massive Symphony, great in stature, and great in length too, but composed on a grand scale and a large canvas is what makes it great, composed near the end of his short life, finally Schubert gets to put the ghost of Beethoven to rest, always feeling inadequate in his shadow, here he composes a Symphony worthy of Beethoven, even to the degree that in certain circles this symphony was dubbed 'Beethoven's Tenth'.

Recorded in 1984 when Marriner was 60, it's a noble reading, Marriner seems to like emphasising the staccato elements of the dance in this work, four movements of roughly 15 minutes each, a whole hour of orchestral bliss.

I was especially impressed with the final movement, it has an incessant impulse behind it, the horns bray nicely in the background, the whole movement has this irresistible headlong thrust and drive to it, a fitting culmination to Schubert's symphonic oeuvre.

Here's Harnoncourt conducting the Symphony on YouTube.

Mark Turner [Ballad Session]

As the title suggests, this is a gentle session of ballads, but even though it's tuneful, it's certainly not 'easy listening', this is an intense session, Mark Turner showing off his more romantic introspective side.

It's mainly a mix of quartets and quintets, Guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel adds to this disc immensely, he appears on most of the album, while Pianist Kevin Hays appears on half the tracks, and there's one trio track without either, a nice mix/combination of musicians.

The booklet is fantastic, lovely shots front and back by Richard Lee, and then a load of mesmerising black & white inner shots by Jimmy Katz, nicely lit and at oblique angles, verrry nice, check out his Website, it has a section called portraits, and has many black & white galleries of Jazz musicians, the list of musicians on the front cover is my own inspiration, rub on transfers, it helps me to remember who's playing on the session, plus it adds to to the overall artistic effect.

This time around i was impressed with track 6, All Or Nothing At All, the opening is great, nice chords by Rosenwinkel, and great cymbal/drum combination work by brian Blade, before Turner states the irresistible theme, and uses the upper registers of the Sax throughout the track, a special mention should be made of Drummer Brian Blade, he is on revelatory form on this track, i can hear brushwork, and his use of cymbals is so satisfying.

I get the strong feeling Mark Turner was inspired by John Coltrane's version, you can hear Mark Turner playing this track on YouTube.

Bach - Violin Concerto 2 [Hahn/Kahane-Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra]

This is the best thing Hilary Hahn has done, the whole package, disc, booklet, back inlay, is so well thought out, this is what every new album release should be like, an extra special mention should be made of the booklet cover shot, taken by Kasskara, it's a superb photographic document, the graphics and colour scheme are just perfect, the same can be said for the back inlay, Deutsche Grammophon can really get it right sometimes.

Recorded with an ideal sized Chamber Orchestra, in lovely modern sound, you can hear the textures of everything, Hahn isn't sound volume dominant, she has to compete with everyone else being heard.

I so much enjoyed Concerto No2 [BWV 1042] this time, the first movement has such a memorable tune, it's a headlong tour de force, such an exuberance from Hahn, she sounds like she's in the same room, i especially love the way she blends in and out of the the violin string section, camouflaging herself as a group at one moment, and then revealing herself as a soloist at the next moment.

You can hear her in the first movement of this Concerto on YouTube, and her Website is actually quite personal, see for yourself.

Dianne Birch [Bible Belt]

What an album!, this is her debut, and she's hit the jackpot on first strike, the whole album is drenched in Gospel, and is permeated with Soul and Blues too, she's a Keyboardist, so the album is piano / organ driven, and what a voice she's got!, very versatile indeed, she sounds like a Black Soul Singer at times, she learned a lot from her religious upbringing, you can almost hear the Gospel choirs on this disc, if she improves on her next album, it's gonna be a killer, she'll be 27 in a few days.

I bought this disc on Ebay for £1, i was attracted to the booklet cover, yes my eyes listen and picks what i buy!, and then my ears get to make the final choice, it's a very varied album.

My favourite tracks that moved me the most are 5-6, 8 & 10, the middle of the album is strongest, so far my favourite track is Ariel, though that could change on next listen, Diane Birch plays the keys, and with only a small group of musicians she gets maximum power and feeling, the chorus is sooo catchy, you get that catch in your throat feeling, she effortlessly gets through chord and key changes in voice and tune, and her voice easily improvises, she has that knack of subtly varying her phrasing, so that the way she sings things differently, is the only way it should be sung.

Here's Diane Birch singing Ariel on YouTube.

Brahms - Violin Sonata 2 [Belkin/Dalberto]

The Russian Boris Belkin has too few recordings, and this is one of his treasurable discs, now really hard to get hold of, but worth the search, as this disc is worth adding to your collection, a lovely booklet with some nice shots of Belkin and Dalberto in action on the front cover/back inlay, it's a shame that Denon discs aren't more readily available, they have a treasure trove of a back catalogue.

The second Violin Sonata is my favourite of the three, it has great variety, especially in the middle movement, which oscillates and shifts back and forth between andante and vivace passages, very effective indeed, like a set of variations, and yet they are more a set of variations of tempi, slow and fast, light and dark, sweet and sour if you like, in the central fast section the Violin is plucked to great effect, afterwards comes a more coda-ish slow passage, and then a very short ten second fast climax to bring the thing to a close, a very satisfying musical experience.

I find a sweetness in Belkin's playing, he is true to the score of the music, nothing showy or flashy, just simply revealing the genius of Brahms, plus Michel Dalberto is a complementary partner, expert in Brahms and Schubert, Dalberto has made some riveting solo Brahms Piano music on Erato worth checking out.

Here's Sanja Jovic playing the second movement on YouTube.

Rodrigo - Fantasia Para Un Gentilhomre [Isbin/ Foster-Orchesre De Chambre De Lausanne]

If you love the famous Concierto De Aranjuez, then this is really more of the wonderful same, based on pieces by Gaspar Sanz that Rodrigo reworked into a Fantasia, in essence Rodrigo gives us a bunch of contrasting short pieces all welded together to make a satisfying whole.

Sharon Isbin is delicate in the gentle sections, and virtuosic in the more spirited parts, the booklet cover is a wonderful shot of Sharon by Stuart O'Shields, this always adds to the music, it's such a shame when there is heavenly music on the disc, and a boring booklet picture from hell on the cover!.

This time i enjoyed the Espanoleta second movement, a slow dance with a haunting nostalgic tune, so old worldly, it transports me back to some long forgotten time, it's so good that music can do this to me, it has a nice reprise at the end of the Fanfare De La Caballeria De Napoles, elsewhere in the work the Trumpets have some nice fanfare work.

I can't find a link to Sharon Isbin playing this Fantasia, so here is Narciso Yepes playing the second movement Espanoleta on YouTube.

Beethoven - Piano Concerto 5 [Perahia/ Haitink-Concertgebouw Orchestra]

Beethoven fifth Concerto is the greatest Piano Concerto in the catalogue, it has majesty and grandeur, and its tag of Emperor is well justified, it's also such a happy Concerto, i can imagine Beethoven transcribing laughing to music in the finale, who else could be so revolutionary as to let the piano make the opening exclamations instead of the Orchestra?.

Perahia is sound and gets to the heart of what Beethoven is trying to say, unlike some other wayward Pianists [Pletnev?], he pushes aside his own individuality for the genius of the Master.

This is my favourite Piano Concerto, and so many of Beethoven's other works seem to have this same universalist ideology feel to them, i find it easy to get lost in this work, and bask in the sheer genius of this Composer, the slow movement is heavenly, it's the final movement which has a sheer exuberance about it, for roughly ten minutes we're treated to a tumultuous wave upon wave of ecstasy.

You can hear him play this Concerto on YouTube, this time with Marriner conducting the final movement.

Brahms - Violin Sonata 3 [Mutter/Weissenberg]

Anne-Sophie Mutter was a 19 year old teenager at the time of this recording, i think her youth shows, i don't know how much she practiced these works with Weissenberg, but i find certain unthought out passages, there's parts which don't gel together right, i'm sure they weren't regular partners, and it shows, however i still find this performance illuminating, i have lots of recordings of these Sonatas, my favourite is Itzhak Perlman with Ashkenazy, but these are well worth hearing.

The only Violin Sonata of Brahms to be composed in a minor key, and it shows in the opening bars, darker and troubling undercurrents ripple across the surface, even the sweet adagio which follows is in fact bittersweet, full of pathos, the last two movements are agitated and hard driven, a masterpiece by Brahms.

As Mutter approaches near to her fiftieth year, hopefully she will record these Sonatas again, and we will be able to hear what new thoughts she has gained in the interim.

You can hear her on YouTube playing the first movement, with Weissenberg on Piano.

Grieg - Piano Concerto [Bolet/Chailly - RSO Berlin]

The Cuban Pianist Jorge Bolet recorded this right at the end of his life, i would classify him as of the old school slow and thoughtful Pianists, someone like Claudio Arrau, twins in a way, i love Bolet's Ballades by Chopin because they are also slightly on the slow but very insightful side, one of the best things Bolet has done.

It's hard to put my finger on why i enjoyed this disc so much on this hearing, certainly it's the genius of Grieg more than the genius of Bolet, the central adagio is shortish, only a fifth of the Concerto, and yet it centrally glues the whole work together, of course the adagio has such a lovely reprise in the final movement, Bolet is wonderful from 3:44 to 6:22, soothing and calming, languid and dreamy, i can't help but look at the booklet picture as i listen to this passage.

Other Composers have also had a reprise of the preceding movement in the finale, notably Beethoven's fifth Symphony, and what an inventive device it is, it's a wonder why it's not employed with greater frequency.

Jackie McLean [Nature Boy]

Sadly passed away now, McLean recorded this disc 7 years before he died, a ballads album, McLean is more at home in a Hard Bop blowing session, and his acerbic tone doesn't lend itself to slowish ballads very well, plus he wasn't in the best of health, but i'm fond of this session.

Cedar Walton is an ideal Pianist for this disc, the two go well together, and he has thoughtful insights in his solos, a serious mention must be made of the booklet cover shot, one of the most inventive photos i've ever seen, the visual adds to the albums aural appeal.

My favourite track on this disc is the title track Nature Boy, McLean & Walton start with a nearly 2 minute intro/duet, and then Williams & Higgins add an irresistible Drum 'n' Bass groove which McLean solos over, this permeates the whole thing, this is why i love this track so much, there's some very tasty Drumwork by Higgins starting around 5:22 onwards into the Bass solo, right at the end there's an inventive slowdown, and it quiets down to silence, it's wonderful how McLean blows down to a whisper right to the end!.

You can hear Jackie McLean playing Nature Boy on YouTube.

Various Artists [Rocks Off]

I love compilation albums, trouble is that there's so many rubbish one's out there, this is a superb collection of Hard Rock songs, this disc can introduce you to some other worthy Bands you don't know too well.

Whoever chose the tracklisting for this Album did a great job, loads of the tracks have that riff that gets you high, even the tracks i wasn't keen on initially, are now growing on me, the Aerosmith and Urge Overkill tracks for instance, a great booklet front cover too.

This time around i was impressed with tracks 1, 6 & 8-10, the Manic Street Preachers track Faster is my favourite song on the Album, and The Holy Bible is a monster of an Album it comes from too, however i was really drawn to From Out Of Nowhere by Faith No More, the guitar riff at the start is so addictive, fills me with enthusiasm for life, i like the opening words sung by Mike Patton,

'Tossed into my mind, stirring the calm

You splash me with beauty, and pull me down'

this has inspired me to check out their Albums, i'll probably get The Real Thing on Ebay now, check out From Out Of Nowhere on YouTube.

Mark Whitfield [7th Ave Stroll]

A lovely Jazz Guitar disc, Mark Whitfield works with two separate groups on this recording, one with some veteran musicians, and the other with a much younger group, but the whole thing works so well it's seamless, as a generality, the younger group play the more hip upbeat numbers, and the older guys play the more thoughtful slower stuff, i prefer the older group, wisdom wins the day.

This album has the theme of New York running through it, two thirds of the tracks were composed by Whitfield, on this listen my favourite tracks are 7 and 9, Sunday In New York [a Peter Nero tune], has a great mesmerising groove by the Bassist Dave Holland, and Al Foster adds great cymbal work, Whitfield freely uses this base to improvise over, Sunset At Waterside is even better, what a lovely laid back tune by Whitfield, and Foster's drumwork is so superb and inventive [extra mention should be made of his brushwork on other parts of the album], Tommy Flanagan's short piano solo is also laid back, he reminds me of Cedar Walton, the reprise of the tune by Whitfield is a joy.

I bought this disc for a bargain £2 in a second-hand shop in London, but i would gladly have paid full price, you can hear samples from each track on the AllMusic website.

Sibelius - Violin Concerto [Hou/Tung-Symphony Orchestra Of Radio And Television Slovenija]

Recorded when she was 21 i believe, she's now 33, she looks so young and small, reminds me of Midori in a way, born in China but raised in Canada, she isn't world renowned, and she hasn't got a lot of recordings, but i wish some big Company would sign her.

I so much enjoyed this recording, the highlights were the closing section of the first movement, say 14:30 to the end, lots of fire and passion, really thrilling, and the intense tenderness in the middle of the Adagio, 3:57 to roughly 7:00, she really has a great range of emotion, i'm not sure how long it's been since i've been moved by such a performance of this work, this is a treasure of a recording.

You can watch her playing excerpts of the Sibelius on YouTube, check out her fingerwork in the first movement Cadenza at 3:36 onwards, incredible!, oh my gosh!, right at the very end she turns back into a little schoolgirl again, see 8:35 to the end, it's like Cinderella when the clock strikes midnight!, it's hard to believe all that maturity before came from her.

And here's her Website.

Schubert - String Quartet 14 'Death And The Maiden' [Tokyo String Quartet]

In my opinion, one of the two greatest String Quartets ever written, the other being Beethoven's Quartet 7, his first Razumovsky, this Quartet is of course permeated by death, and like the Trout Quintet, also gets its name from a song Schubert composed, and also like that work, an ingenious set of variations are set to the theme of the tune.

This recording is just over 20 years old, but it's still digitally wonderful, of course the Tokyo quartet line up has changed since then, only two remain since this recording.

I always enjoy the variation second movement, it has melancholy, sadness, anger, innocence, and finally acceptance in its five variations, my favourite has to be the middle third variation, it seems to oscillate between loud whooping exclamations, and quiet pleadings, a dialogue going back and forth, which is the whole gist of the conversation between Death and the Maiden, Schubert uses the whole gamut of the range and feeling of the String Quartet in these endlessly enjoyable variations.

Here's the Takacs String Quartet playing the second movement on YouTube.

Chopin - 24 Etudes Op10 & 25 [Magaloff]

These miniatures are wonderful, each one is a TV advert compared to a Symphony being a film, an Etude is a microcosm of a Symphony, it teems with the same musical language, but has to make it's mark in roughly 2 minutes, and Chopin is the King of the miniature.

Magaloff has his own ideas about interpreting these pieces, on the whole he's slightly slow, hesitant in saying his version, maybe even slightly clumsy at points here and there, he's not an Andrei Gavrilov or Evgeny Kissin, but he's certainly not a bumbling Grandfather at the piano either, he was 63 when he recorded these pieces.

The piece i loved the most on this listen, was the fifth Etude from the first book, entitled Black Keys, Magaloff produces a lovely ringing tone, he gets the tempo right where it matters, and his legato at 0:55 makes the piece even more treasurable, there's a lovely autumn wistfulness to his interpretation at 1:04 to roughly 1:27, if you want to listen to this piece on You Tube, try it here, even though the sound is fairly quiet.

Schubert - Piano Quintet 'The Trout' [Schiff/Hagen Quartet/ Posch]

Schubert's Trout Quintet is a fun yet serious work, composed while on holiday on the Danube river town of Steyr in Austria, this was a happy time for Schubert.

The Quintet received the tag 'trout' for its use of a song Schubert composed about a trout fisherman, used in the variation 4th movement, the highlight of the work,

'I stood on the bank

and in sweet calm watched

the cheerful fish bathing

in the clear brooklet'

even though the words are composed by Stolberg, you can just imagine Schubert on the riverbank!.

I enjoyed the variations so much on this hearing, on the scan of the back insert i have a sticker with timings for the individual variations on the fourth movement, the theme is stated gently by the strings, and variation 1 introduces the piano trilling with string backup, my favourite moment is the variation 4, the lower and higher strings argue, while the piano stamps out the chords.

Here's the Amadeus String Quartet playing the fourth movement variations on YouTube, with Clifford Curzon on piano.