“Without music, life would be a mistake” – Friedrich Neitzsche

 

Here’s another edition of Seriously Good Music.  Enjoy this week’s selections and let us know what you think.

 

“Solo: The Marcevol Concert” – Renaud García-Fons (2012)

  

This album features French bassist Renaud García-Fons in a live solo performance with a flavour of the east and of Al-Andalus.  It was recorded at the Prieuré de Marcevol in the French Pyrenees.  García-Fons uses a wide range of techniques, including loops of his own playing, to produce his rich palette of sounds.  YouTube videos and the DVD that accompanies the CD show the evocative concert setting and how this remarkable music was made.

 

“Eternal” – Branford Marsalis (2004)

  

A beautiful selection of ballads, expertly played by the quartet.  Marsalis’s saxophones are expressive and rich in tone.  My favourite track on the album is the quartet’s wonderful reading of “The Ruby and the Pearl”.

(Unfortunately the wrong tune is linked to the title “The Ruby and the Pearl” on both Qobuz and Tidal.  That title actually links to “The Bard Lacrymose” from the album “Songs of Mirth and Melancholy”.  The correct tune can be found online on YouTube.)

 

“Reid, Wright and Be Happy” – Ron Reid, Orville Wright & David “Happy” Williams (2003)

Ahh … the sound of steel!  Featuring the sweet tone of Reid’s pan, the trio gives us classics like Kitchener’s “The Road” and Ray Holman’s “Pan on the Move”.  Also there are some of their own compositions, all played with a real pan-jazz groove.

 

“Yuko Mabuchi Plays Miles Davis” – Yoko Mabuchi

  

In this live album the pianist Yuko Mabuchi presents beautiful interpretations of Miles Davis classics like “All Blues”, “Milestones”, and “So What”.  The album also includes three of her own compositions.  Wonderful performances and a superb recording.

 

“Chopin: Piano Concertos” – Benjamin Grosvenor (2020)

  

Benjamin Grosvenor plays Chopin’s two piano concertos, well supported by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under Elim Chan.  This album has just won the Concerto Category of the Gramophone Classical Music Awards 2020.  This is not Grosvenor’s first major award.  He’s been collecting them since he was 11, and also received two Gramophone Awards in 2012.  Grosvenor’s playing is delightful, illuminated by a very good recording.

© 2020 Wayne Butcher. All rights reserved.