Nanci Griffith [Flyer] 

This is my first reference to Nanci Griffith in my Blog, she used to be a fairly major influence in my music of the past, but over the years i've reassessed her, and some of the albums which i used to own, i have now sold, this is actually the very last disc i own of hers, and i feel it's her best, well how do you define the genre of music that Nanci Griffith sings?, i suppose i would have to plump for Country, but she certainly leans more toward contemporary American Folk, and a great Singer Songwriter, she has a number of greatest hits packages, but they're all filled with lots of her least inventive music, if only i could pick a greatest hits package for her, it would be a fantastic album.

Nanci Griffith is American, now 58 years old, she has recorded 19 studio albums, and this roughly sits in the middle, she recorded this in 1994, when she was for me at her peak, and the booklet front cover is an endearing shot of Nanci [by Rocky Schenck], showing her coy smile, nice sepia toned soft pic, i really like it a lot, the album title 'Flyer' refers to Nanci's penchant for travelling the world as a live singer, living out of airports, and the people she meets between flights, a great concept idea.

Well on this listen it was track 1, 7 & 15 that i liked best, and i would like to give my thoughts on each of these three tracks,
1 The Flyer - the opening and title track, appropriately stuck as the leading song, it introduces the theme of the album, in a sense it's a sad song of lost / possible love, it was inspired by a real life situation from Nanci, stuck in a snowstorm at an airport, she passed the time by befriending another passenger on a different flight, i like the way the second verse starts with an extra kick [0:50+], and what sounds like a digeridoo, lovely effect, the third verse quietens down somewhat for a more acoustic effect [2:35], a nice moment.
7 Don't Forget About Me - blessed with tremendously fantastic background percussion [by Larry Mullen Jr, yes him of U2 fame!], very inventive and varied, creating a superb drum and mandolin intro [0:00-0:08], and as the chorus kicks in, so does Larry Mullen Jr [0:39+], one inspired drummer can turn a song of silver into a song of gold, and it's good to hear him repeat the trick at the start of the second chorus too [1:41+], and yes it's Mark Knopfler [him of Dire Straits fame!] with his atmospheric twangy guitar at the start of the second verse! [1:12+], the mandolin [played by David Mansfield] opening comes back in power [2:44-2:57], and it's this that finishes the song in a satisfying ending.
15 This Heart - this is the song i liked the very best, and a very appropriate closer, with again Larry Mullen Jr playing the cowbells at the start [0:01-0:09], a nice intro, and with powerful strumming guitars, it creates a real danceability to it, Mullen comes back with his cowbells [1:58-2:14], Nanci Griffith sings the last verse with an extra ounce of verve [2:30-2:42], and right at the very very end, yes it's Larry 'lastword' Mullen Jr that has a final drumstick toss to end the whole album on a superb piece of genius! [3:23].

Brahms - Piano Quartet 1 [Domus] 

Brahms's chamber music contribution is huge, and he has turned his hand to most expressions within this form, i'm still coming to terms with some of his compositions [the String Quartets for one], but others have been long favourites [the Violin Sonatas for instance], the Piano Quartets reside somewhere in the middle, i'm certainly familiar enough with them, and yet they're still elusive as firm friends, so it was good to delve into this work today, to cement this more deeply in my heart.

Domus was formed in 1979, and disbanded in 1994, there are String Quartet ensembles in abundance, and Piano Trio ensembles aplenty too, but Domus almost had the Piano Quartet medium to themselves, and they recorded Brahms, Faure, Dvorak, Mendelssohn, and Mozart to name their major works, the front cover for this re-issue is a painting by Henri Le Sidaner called 'Le Dimanche' [The Sunday], the original is an oblong painting of twelve girls in discussion after Church i take it, and a middle square is reproduced here of the main group of five girls, and in the link i have provided, you can see the truncated pieces left and right, which create a greater artistic balance, a wonderfully backlit piece, looks like the evening sunshine, i don't usually like conventional artwork on front cover booklets, much preferring photographs, but this really is lovely, this work was recorded in 1987, originally recorded as two separate discs, but conveniently brought together as a much prized set here.

This whole Piano Quartet is wonderful, very symphonic in many ways, no wonder Schoenberg made an Orchestral version of it, i liked the third movement Andante con Moto the best, its opening is achingly beautiful, full of Brahms's autumn / evening glow, the movement is written in E Flat Major, creating a certain nobility, the very opening is repeated to wonderful effect [1:19+], the movement is slow, but not necessarily always serene, there's outbursts aplenty too, Brahms completely changes tack a third of the way in, with a skippy march like rhythm [3:43-4:33], the piano in the treble, while the strings play a jumpy morse code stuttering, very effective indeed, and somehow it fits in with what went before, and then a louder forte version of the same [4:33-5:58], now it sounds seriously angry, i like the way the music is repeated for emphasis [5:07+], sounds even better the second time around, right at the end there's time for a rhapsodic version of the opening [8:53-9:22], strings high in the treble, piano tolling away in the bass, it's an inspiring movement, made all the more beautiful by a walk in the park while i was listening to it!.

Here's Domus playing the third movement Andante Con Moto on YouTube.

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

This is so good to visit this Piano Concerto again, this is one of the early entries in my blog last year [22nd January 2010], and it's good to hear it again, on this listen i somehow didn't quite find real power behind the playing, maybe it's just me, maybe it was my mood, but i did find wonderful lyricism from Tanyel.

Seta Tanyel is Armenian, and this recording was made in 1990, the front cover photograph is great, a nice sharp shot with a blue background, Collins Classics made some great discs in their time, and it's a shame about their demise, this is one of the very best Grieg / Schumann discs that i own.

The last two movements were tremendous, but it was the middle movement, full of tenderness and passion that really got my heart, there's a serene two minute orchestral introduction, laying down some wonderful preliminary ideas, but it's when Tanyel comes in [1:57-2:18] that the mood is just so perfect with those first few notes, and she repeats the same notes a second time [2:44-3:06] just for heavenly emphasis, right near the end there's some lovely soft pianism from Tanyel [5:25-5:53], being a fairly short movement,the whole thing is over too soon, but it's one of the very best creations from Grieg, so moody.

Here's Julia Fischer playing the slow movement on YouTube.

Keith Jarrett [Standards - Volume One] 

Early in my Blog, i played this disc and reported on my experiences [1st February 2010], and what i wrote there i echo here, this disc had now come around for some nice re-listening, my disc collection is such that it takes nearly 18 months for an album to be played again!, but boy when i do play a treasured album again, it's a treasured experience, and hearing these three guys playing 'telepathic' Jazz is so exciting.

Keith Jarrett was born in 1945 in America, making him now 66, he recorded this disc in 1983, the front cover is very sparse, no picture, as is fairly usual with ECM issues, they don't do a lot for me, but the music on the inside is fantastic.

However much i enjoy tracks 1-4, and i certainly was wowed by them, it's the final track 5 closer 'God Bless The Child' that is just stunning, it's fifteen and a half minutes of pure Jazz heaven, it's just perfection, and remains my very favourite Jazz track of all time, just a little way in, and the piano changes tack, there's a superb refrain [1:24+], and a track that was already full of inspiration, now reaches into the heights of the sublime, Jarrett really gets into the piece with his vocalise [2:26+], and the notes of the piano with Jack DeJohnette's rhythmic drumming, is so mesmerising, and when the chorus comes in, Jarrett uses some very nice treble notes [3:49+], and the refrain that Jarrett brings in towards the end of Gary Peacock's Bass solo [6:03+], where he changes the key, is so gut wrenching, later after Jack DeJohnette's Drum solo, Jarrett creates a trance like stabbings in readiness to bring in the main theme again [9:26-9:52], and when that main theme returns [9:52+], it's like a million knots being untied, it's so loaded with resolution, towards the end Jarrett brings in the verse again [11:23+], and embellishes the tune with some lovely bass warblings [11:26 & 11:29], Gary Peacock is excellent at this point too, the piece develops a sort of outro / coda feeling, but it goes on and on, and the three musicians just seem to like to jam, it develops quite an intensity, Gary Peacock's outro is really nice, and Jack DeJohnette's closing down of the piece is superb, a genius of a creation.

Here's Keith Jarrett playing this piece on YouTube.