The latest CD releases reviewed

FRANÇOIS COUTURIER
Nostalghia - Song for Tarkovsky ECM *****

Composer and pianist Couturier evokes the emotional and spiritual climate of Tarkovsky's films, using, as the late great Russian director often did, deceptively simple means. In this case it's various combinations of piano (Couturier), accordion (Jean-Louis Matinier), cello (Anja Lechner) and soprano (Jean-Marie Larcher). Mixing classical rigour with improvisation, both formal and free, what emerges is austerely beautiful, etched in sombre hues and redolent of an unslakeable thirst to connect with a deeper well of the spirit, one that may be felt but never quite known. The classical references include Bach's St Matthew Passion and Pergolesi's Stabat Mater (both Tarkovsky favourites),, but what really matters is the unity of playing and beauty of the music. www.musicconnection.org.uk

MARIANO/HUEBNER/BEIRACH
Beauty Intuition ****

Despite the presence of especially adventurous players like altoist Mariano and pianist Beirach, this is really a straight-ahead session, with superior blowing by all concerned. It's a quartet, completed by violinist Gregor Huebner and his brother Veit on bass. Excellent originals by all four, spiced with Nardis and My Foolish Heart, lay the foundation for some dramatic, passionate and imaginative playing. Mariano, aided by a huge sound, is unsparing. Just as well, because the violinist is in the kind of mood to blow anyone away. But they are also, with Beirach, emotionally complex soloists, displaying, inter alia, a sense of the transience of all things on Mariano's beautiful Three Leaves, and a lyric melancholy on Huebner's Waltz for Fee. Lovely. http://uk.hmboutique.com

MULGREW MILLER
Live at the Kennedy Center Vol 1 MaxJazz ****

Miller belongs to the virtuosic, swinging, orchestral piano lineage epitomised by Oscar Peterson. Here, in the company of his exceptional working trio of Derrick Hodge (bass) and Rodney Green (drums), he delivers handsomely on that tradition. The roles are clearly defined; piano is the main voice, bass is the harmonic and rhythmic fulcrum, and drums have a looser role around the piano lead. With Miller in brilliant form, they do it supremely well, grooving irresistably on If I Should Lose You, delightfully buoyant on an outstanding Skylark and storming through Parker's blues, Relaxin' at Camarillo. The pianist's originals, a bluesy When I Get There and an attractive From Day to Day in 3/4 are pieces that offer substance to the soloists while retaining character as compositions. Conventional but enjoyable. www.maxjazz.com