Latest releases reviewed
BILL HOLMAN The Bill Holman Band Live JazzedMedia *****
It's been eight years since arranger and composer Holman's last CD - too long, as this terrific example of swinging big band jazz underlines. All the Holman trademarks are still brilliantly there: the interweaving ensemble lines as freshly conceived as ever; the subtle use of motifs to unify and, paradoxically, to add diversity to, an arrangement; the absolute clarity that, again paradoxically, almost obscures the canny complexity of his scores; the abundance of invention that never seems to overburden his writing; and the sheer swinging ebullience it permits the band and its soloists, who include stalwarts in Andy Martin and Bob Enevoldsen (trombones), Ron Stout and Bob Summers (trumpets), and Lanny Morgan, Doug Webb and Bob Efford (reeds), plus a fine pianist, Christian Jacob. One of the CDs of the year from a master. www.JazzedMedia.com
Ray Comiskey
STEFANO BOLLANI Concertone Label Bleu ***
Pianist Bollani wrote the first three movements of Concertone (Paolo Silvestri, who orchestrated this piano concerto, composed the final one) and recorded it with the classical Orchestra Della Tuscana, well versed in working with improvisers. The writing is lush, sweepingly romantic, wry, witty and humorous, and the marriage of jazzmen like Bollani (who plays beautifully) Ares Tavolazzi (bass), Mirko Guerrini (tenor) and Nico Gori (alto/ soprano/clarinet), among others, works surprisingly well. Four other pieces complete the results of their association, including a lovely orchestral setting for My Funny Valentine, all played with that heart-on-sleeve warmth that seems to be an Italian characteristic. Somehow it all evokes the same mood as a film such as Cinema Paradiso. www.musicconnecion.org.uk
Ray Comiskey
JESSICA WILLIAMS Live at Yoshi's Volume Two MaxJazz ****
Williams, a consistently good pianist, was in notable form on this second live album, recorded on a visit to the famed San Francisco club with bassist Ray Drummond and drummer Vic Lewis. The debt to Monk remains in the stride theme treatment of Lulu's Back in Town, but the following solo is all Williams and the Monkish hints on Why Do I Love You are refracted through her own personality. Her work, too, has a measured, assured relaxation, expressed as much in wit as it is in lyricism; superb originals - Dear Gaylord, Soldaji and Spoken Softly by her, Paul's Pal by Sonny Rollins, and above all Flamenco Sketches by Miles Davis - get the kind of authoritative exploration that shows the strength of her musical character, while an impressive Summertime never falters in its command of mood. www.maxjazz.com
Ray Comiskey
