The latest CD releases reviewed

KENNY WHEELER
Other People CamJazz *****

This places the great trumpeter and flugelhorn player, with pianist John Taylor, in the context of the Hugo Wolf String Quartet. Not only has he brilliantly used the resources available, but he's also integrated his own and Taylor's roles fully into the ensemble discourse. This is no soloists-with- strings approach. It's particularly true of the finest such pieces, Other People, Win Some Lose Some, More Is Less and The Unfortunate Gentleman. But even where the strings have a somewhat more subsidiary role (on Some Days Are Better and The Lucky Lady), they provide more than just a backdrop for some glorious soloing. Wheeler has also written two lovely works for the quartet alone, handling the format so deftly that it's hard to believe this is his first time to do it. And the compositions, like their titles, are saturated in Wheeler's wry, melodic, melancholy charm and humour. http://uk.hmboutique.com

MARILYN MAZUR/JAN GARBAREK
Elixir ECM ***

A CD dominated by percussion isn't the most inviting prospect; still less so when there is only one other instrumentalist. But the protagonists here are world class, and Mazur not only engages virtuosically with an inviting range of percussion instruments (among them gongs, bells, marimba, waterphone and assorted drums, cymbals and metal utensils), but also ensures that each track does not outstay its welcome. On almost half, including six joint, spontaneous creations, Mazur

enjoys a telepathic communion with Garbarek, in fine form on tenor/ soprano and flute, to add spice to the sounds she conjures up. A master colourist, she can call on a range of moods: the delicacy of a Japanese watercolour (Metal Dew); humour (Talking Wind, The Siren in the Well); and, with Garbarek, a touch of the Middle East (Orientales) and sheer visceral energy (Totem Dance). www.musicconnection.org.uk

CLAUS RAIBLE
Don't Blame Me Pirouet ***

If he had been heard when bop was at the cutting edge, Raible would have been a revelation. This fine pianist, though not an original voice, speaks bop's lingua franca like a native. And, as this beautifully crafted album with

Ben Dixon (drums) and Giorgos Antoniu (bass) shows, it's both a triumph and a limitation. To hear him deal with pieces by Tadd Dameron, Bud Powell and Elmo Hope, and such standards as I May Be Wrong, Don't Blame Me and The Best Thing for You Is Me, is like being transported in time.

The placement of accents, the rhythmic flourishes, the spare, allusive quotes, the tart harmonic references, are all persuasively deployed with mother-tongue fluency as the trio gel and groove. And though it's all inside the box and doesn't transcend it, one can't deny the warmth and commitment of the playing, to which bop fans will undoubtedly respond. www.pirouetrecords.com