Johnny Griffin [The Cat]

I discovered Johnny Griffin when i bought the cassette of this in a second hand shop, and really loved it, so i bought the disc, i don't bother with tapes anymore, but they really helped me delve into some out of the way music, it's good to play a Jazz disc today, roughly 5% of my Blog, and 4% of my disc collection is Jazz i would guess, and yet it's such great stuff, but finding the 'great' out of the 'good' is a hard task, at one time i used to own 150 jazz discs, now i own half that much, i've purged myself of a lot of dross, yet i don't seem to be delving into much new Jazz, there's so many genres to concentrate on, i've played this disc 15 times, and it's been in my Blog before [27th February 2010].

Johnny Griffin was an American [1928-2008], he came out with this disc in 1990, the front cover is excellent [by Jules Allen], showing Griffin in a portrait, basically a double exposure, a slow shutter speed makes the picture blurred, but at the same time the flash captures the subject frozen, it's actually fairly hard to get exactly right, but the results here are great, shows Griffin pin sharp, and yet there's movement too.

Well i really enjoyed this disc today, it's been over two years since i last played it, and i guess i've missed just how good it is, and why i initially fell in love with it in the first place, well on this listen i liked tracks 2, 5 & 7-9 the most, with tracks 2 & 9 especially great, here's a synopsis of both,
2 Wistful [7:09] - My favourite track on the album, the drummer Kenny Washington is so subtly good, creating i ticking rhythm at the beginning, Griffin plays the wonderful theme tune [0:10-1:32], a sort of jumpy hiccup of playing, which is really quite affecting, in the middle of the theme comes a 'chorus' [0:52-1:11], after the theme Griffin's off on his solo [1:32-4:12], he can make it cry and get really into it, Washington is excellent here, the best sideman on this record, his choice of hits and rhythms brings out the best in Griffin, the Pianist Michael Weiss takes his solo [4:13-5:30], a good one, though not in the league of truly good, Griffin brings the theme back in [5:30-7:09], and it's so good to hear this repeated, a lovely number.
9 Waltz For Ma [2:37] - A short little closer tacked on the end, almost an encore if you like, a waltz for Griffin's Mother, featuring the duo of just Griffin and Dennis Irwin on bass, it's a lovely ditty, Griffin playing sharp and bright, Irwin a simple bass accompaniment, it's a simple and innocent tune theme [0:00-1:00], afterwards Griffin plays a more complex variation [1:00-1:57], and brings back the theme again [1:57-2:31], it should be noted there's a point where he purposely plays out of tune in the theme, which is really quite cute, it's a touching short tune.

Weber - Grand Duo Concertant [Stoltzman/ Ax]

The first time i seriously fell in love with this work, was while out for a walk with the Johnson / Back disc on ASV, i've always felt that Weber is a very average Composer, but this is his best work by far, the performance i know the best is Collins / Stott on EMI [also he has an exciting performance with Pletnev on Virgin], this disc is fairly new, and only getting its third outing, not a tremendous amount of music on the disc, less than fifty minutes, they could have added something else, this is the first time that Weber has appeared in my Blog, even though i've played this work probably seventy times.

Richard Stoltzman is American, he's now 72, this recording was made back in 1982, so already over thirty years old, the photography is brilliant, showing both Stoltzman and Ax on the piano stool, clarinet in Stoltzman's hand, wearing dark clothes and a jet black background, therefore the lighted parts stand out all the more, the lettering is placed at an angle, and the RCA and Red Seal logos are so colourful, i love the finished product.

Well deep down you could call this a Clarinet Sonata i guess, it's in three movements, the first two were the best, and it was the middle movement Andante Con Moto that was the best of all, just under seven minutes long, starts off low and like some sort of lament [0:00-0:18], the notes are very much a beautiful legato, and Stoltzman plays with real feeling in the opening minute [0:19-0:53], a real sadness permeates the whole thing, it's certainly not all low and quiet, at times there's a certain wailing intensity to it, the piano even pulls off a solo [1:46-2:40], which gets quite intense, the way it prepares for the clarinet to come back in is magical, a sort of fanfare, and the clarinet steals in so quietly [2:40-2:58], while the piano plinks away in the treble, that's an inspired creation, the whole movement's in a form of a fantasy, there's really heartbreaking stuff by both players, Stoltzman can reach those breathy depths, play really quiet too, makes an incredible impression, the clarinet is a beautiful instrument, the opening returns in splendour [4:50+], the repetition here is so good, and Stoltzman has some extra depth in presenting the end [6:17+], as the clarinet delves deeper into a sort of bassy death, i feel i need to hear some other players, see what they make of the piece.

Here's Meyer / Sage playing this middle movement on YouTube, however they play it a minute and a half faster, and maybe it misses some of its 'lament' qualities in the process.

Bruckner - Symphony 4 'Romantic' [Wand-Kolner Rundfunk Sinfonie Orchester]

This is a lovely recording, i really rate Wand in Bruckner, it was his forte, i have eight recordings of the Bruckner 4, and this is my second favourite behind Barenboim / Teldec, it's probably Bruckner's most accessible Symphony, though my favourite is the Eighth, this is the third time this disc has appeared in my Blog [6th February 2010 & 2nd June 2012].

Gunter Wand was German [1912-2002], he recorded this disc in 1976, the front cover picture is beautiful, the sun glistening on a golden river / lake, a line of trees in the distance, the sun out of shot, but it's those wonderful colours, plus a box for the lettering, on a jet black background, and the red EMI logo at the bottom, now that's a great finished product!.

Well on this listen the whole of the Symphony was equally satisfying, i love all these movements, however it was the fourth movement which gives the final seal on the piece, here it's the longest movement at over twenty minutes, Bruckner's penchant for horns is at the fore, it's a gradual build up to one of his brass fanfares [1:13-1:38], a hallmark of Bruckner, and his penchant also for these releases of brass energy [2:19-2:34], i love the strings when they get going in a strong melody [4:48-4:59], Bruckner can really get those brass instruments angry [5:29-6:24], busily trying to outdo each other in volume, halfway through there's this serenade on the strings, it really gets going as a bright spot of happiness in the movement [9:39-10:55], until the angry brass have a field day again [10:55+], but it turns into something more majestic [11:45-12:14], the fanfares erupt into something much more noble than angry sound, the brass later rises higher and higher in their desire to reach a fantastic climax [13:56-14:47], but stops nowhere without any conclusion, the strings propel themselves onward with a real thrust, about three minutes before the end there's a change in the mood [17:14+], signalling the whole Symphony is wrapping up, there's this expectation on shimmering low strings [17:52+] with quiet woodwind and horns, you know it's building up to something truly revelatory and final, and bursts into joy for the last twenty seconds [19:59+], i guess i've listened to this work roughly seventy times, and yet i'm still learning new things about it.

Here's Calleya conducting the fourth movement on YouTube.

Beethoven - Symphony 5 [Jochum-Concertgebouw Orchestra]

Die Funften!, The Fifths, the Symphony and the Piano Concerto, and what a combination, it's a wonder that this coupling isn't more common, the last time i played this disc, the Piano Concerto was a revelation, Kovacevich is a genius in that work, but this time i loved the symphony the best, Jochum isn't a favourite conductor of mine, and i don't have many discs of his, but this is a lovely addition to my collection, i found this disc on Ebay, never knew it existed before, as it's probably a German issue, but i'm glad i acquired it.  

Eugen Jochum was German [1902-1987], i think this was recorded in 1969, the booklet cover is great, showing a bust of Beethoven, some fantastic light coming in from the left, making some nice contour shadows on his face, the background has nice shades of grey, it was inspirational to call it 'Die Funften', celebrating these two wonderful works, the whole thing looks great.

Well this time i enjoyed the second movement from Jochum, not one i usually find a favourite, but here it just sounds so exciting, the Fifth doesn't have an Adagio, so we get an Andante instead, after a subdued start, we get the full force of the theme in the military brass [1:19-1:39], and repeated again a little later [3:25-3:48], there's this march theme throughout, at times it can be subdued, and other time it can be robust, i like these forte passages, and one appears in the strings [7:46-8:10], and right after there's a delicate echo by the woodwind [8:10-8:21], for the beginning of the coda, there's a lovely bassoon rhythm [8:37-8:50], and some of the best music is at the close, again the sweet strings make some melancholy music [9:15-9:38], it's a movement that can easily be 'forgotten', sandwich between some of the most glorious music Beethoven ever wrote.

Here's Pletnev conducting the second movement on YouTube.

Shostakovich - Symphony 10 [Shostakovich-London Symphony Orchestra]

Shostakovich conducted by Shostakovich!, well not quite, this is his son, so i suppose he has some insights from his Father, a front row seat on his life, of course just born into the family doesn't mean that you're any good, my introduction to Shostakovich was his Fifth Symphony [Bychkov / Philips], but the next Symphony i heard was his Tenth [Karajan / DG], and i guess it's creeping in to be my favourite, i actually 'only' have five Shostakovich Tenth's in my collection, Karajan sits head and shoulders above everyone else, and this is actually quite a new-ish recording of mine, featured in my Blog three years ago [21st June 2012], and this is only it's third playing, yes it takes time to really rack up some listens on every disc i own, my 'impression' is a little bit restrained, i like my Shostakovich angry!, brass and percussion in yer face, but i still think this is a lovely reading, and even though i've heard this Symphony roughly sixty times, i'm still surprised how much i don't know it!.

Maxim Shostakovich is Russian, he's now 77, this was recorded back in 1990, i like the front cover, not entirely sure what it's meant to mean, red paint on glass or something, i'm sure it's not meant to be a map, i like the lettering, like embossed in metal, the back inlay portrait is excellent [by Hanla Chlala].

On this listen, the short Scherzo Allegro really caught my ears, after the mammoth first movement [27 minutes], this second movement can seem a little blip compared to its older brother, roughly six times the size, but this scherzo really packs a punch, it's an angry little thing, jagged string rhythms, wheedling woodwinds, military side drumming, i love the way the music explodes into brass stabbings [0:48-1:22], with frantic woodwind whistling all over the place in the background, and percussion galore, there's also the odd xylophone hit here and there, love the way Shostakovich makes these loud brass 'hits' [1:25 / 1:33 / 1:38 / 1:50], high woodwind going berserk, low woodwind muttering away in the background, there's just so much going on!, it's hard to keep up with all of it, it's a real Mussorgsky Goldenberg & Schmuyle moment, one whining away, the other muttering, a real 'argument', between opposite ends of the spectrum, crashes of cymbals [2:32 / 2:35], and terrifying brass [2:38+] punctuation by loud bass drums [3:17 / 3:24 / 3:28], piccolos and military side drum [4:01-4:04], and the brass have the last laugh at the end!, wow it's really quite breathtaking.

Here's Dudamel conducting the Scherzo on YouTube.

Vaughan Williams - Symphony 5 [Norrington-London Philharmonic Orchestra]

This disc is from the new-ish Virtuoso series, from the back catalogue of Decca and DG, on Amazon you can get some of these discs for a snip, some of them are very desirable indeed, this is one of the best, on the cover it gives the impression that this Fifth is by Marriner, the rest of the pieces are, but this one's from Norrington, this is only the second time i've played it, and i like it a lot already.

Roger Norrington is English, amazingly he's now 81, he recorded this in 1998, now the front cover is a marvellous shot, of a countryside swamped in mist, with layers of background trees, sunlight streaming through, all very grey / brown, it's such a nice shot, and goes well with the music on the disc.

The third movement Romanza is the spiritual centre of the work, and it's certainly my favourite movement, one of Vaughan Williams greatest creations, but on this listen i actually liked the first movement the best, Vaughan Williams calls it 'Preludio', it's a sweet yet sad refrain, high violins set the mood, against a backdrop of rumbling basses [0:00-3:27], no wonder it's called a 'preludio', it sounds like a perpetual prelude, forever about to move into into the main movement at any moment, only when the music changes tack / key [3:27+] do you realise that this is it!, those sweet high violins stay as the main stars throughout, roughly at the six minute mark there's a central section where the woodwind develop some strong / important playing, and with busy and furious strings [6:55+], the whole thing comes to a forte peak, before dying away and the opening starts again, there's this tremendously passionate section, where Vaughan Williams brings all the themes together in a powerful strong statement [8:38-9:51], the music dies away with the voices from the horns, it's a tremendous movement that can be overshadowed by the music to come, as i said it's only the second time i've listened to Norrington's reading, so it will take some more time to really reach an opinion.

Here's Andrew Manze conducting this Symphony on YouTube.

Various Composers - 'Le Violon Vagabond' Violin Encores [Mourja/Gous]

This is an excellent Violin & Piano compilation, mainly for the fact it goes beyond the usual, into some strange territory at times, Mourja / Gous give us some excellent interpretations, i guess for some of these pieces, this probably represents the only disc that has them, plus this is a diverse disc as well, covering lots of different bases, Harmonia Mundi are an exciting innovative label.

Graf Mourja is Russian, this disc came out in 2002, the front cover painting is by Marc Chagall entitled Der Geigenspieler [The Fiddle Player], i like Chagall, his paintings have a dream / nightmare type of quality to them, on the back inlay, the tracks are organised into alphabetical order, rather than in number order, strange that!, so i rubbed on some red transfers to make things clearer.

On this listening tracks 1, 10 & 12 were the very best, and i would like to talk about these three,
1 Frolov / Piece Piece In The Blues Style [3:42] - Igor Frolov is Russian, composes very much in the style of Gershwin, with sighing and crying in the opening bars, and yet it shows you what can be done with the violin, which also includes pizzicato [1:07-1:15], getting stronger and stronger, and also the piano gets involved in some strong up and down the keyboard playing [2:12-2:33], a nice Bluesy piece.
10 Kroll / Banjo & Fiddle [2:45] - William Kroll was American, this is his celebrated piece, once you get to know it you'll fall in love with it, it's a lovely piece, as the title suggests, the violin uses pizzicato effects which mimic the banjo, it's only a short piece, but it's packed full of incident, starting with staccato twangings, and chop and changing with legato bowings, it's a beautiful idea, in the middle is a central section [0:50-1:52], which is much more lyrical, a waltzy serenade, with some brilliant playing, of course the exuberant opening returns [1:52+], to dazzle to the end, with high treble playing, and ending in some pizzicato twangs!.
12 Sarasate / Carmen Fantasy [13:04] - Pablo De Sarasate was Spanish, his Carmen Fantasy of course comes from themes from Bizet's Opera, a tour de force piece which goes all over the place, basically in six sections and a finale to end it off, it's the longest piece on the album by far, and really it has too many wonderful moments to speak of, section one is a brilliant Fantasia, full of flair and dance rhythms, i like the way the violin has a introductory pizzicato solo, followed by some very high tessitura treble whistlings [1:59-2:22], in section three there's sad treble cryings [4:34-4:57], and later a more complex version of the same [5:37-6:04], with some choice pizzicato at the end, the piece has a tendency to get more and more complex, and highly virtuosic at the end, by the ten minute mark the whole thing's starting to go out of control, furious bowing [10:37+], highly lyrical [11:31+], delving into squeaks almost [11:57+], berserk playing [12:29+], getting more and more frantic, it's bewildering, it must be a nightmare to learn!, but it's a dream to listen to!.