Tír Na HiFi

mcq wrote:Listening today to some Charles Lloyd and some Jan Garbarek on ECM.

First up were Lloyd's most recent two albums - the live Rabo de Nube and the more recent Mirror - both of which feature his exceptional touring band of pianist Jason Moran, bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Eric Harland. Extraordinary music from arguably the greatest living saxophonist. Even at his most impassioned, there is always a sense of calm and repose about Lloyd's playing.



Then I listened to two of my favourite Jan Garbarek albums, Dis and Places. The former is distinguished by the interplay with guitarist Ralph Towner and the latter by the contributions of organist John Taylor (somewhat better known as a pianist). Utterly beautiful music which finds Garbarek on his most inspired form.

cybot wrote:Been listening to this all day (Sat) and it's a very firm favourite of mine with a beautifully captured piano sound and performance...



The Bregenz and Munich performances...

First released in 1961, Focus is a classic of its era, but unlike Kind of Blue or Sketches of Spain, it hasn't always been easy to track down, which makes this reissue especially welcome.

Tenor saxophonist Getz breezes through a suite of compositions for small string orchestra and rhythm section composed by Eddie Sauter, the former big band arranger.

The orchestration has a rhythmic drive and harmonic sophistication unmatched at the time. There's a wide emotional and technical range to the orchestral writing; listen to the flamboyant Pan, the lush Her or the dramatic strumming of Night Rider.

Getz is a wonder, delivering a stream of melodic invention that's adventurous, yet grounded in the golden era of jazz. Unlike other experiments of this nature, time has been kind to Focus. Now that collaborations between classical music and jazz are common at every level - from school to symphony hall - there's much here to teach a new generation.

mcq wrote:

cybot wrote:Been listening to this all day (Sat) and it's a very firm favourite of mine with a beautifully captured piano sound and performance...



The Bregenz and Munich performances...

A great album, this was the first solo Jarrett I ever heard and it made an indelible impression. I bought the 3-LP set second-hand from Freebird years ago and spent many a summer's night sitting up late playing this great music over and over. It's a great shame that ECM only released this as a single CD set.