Welcome to the weekend and New in Music This Week: May 15th.
This week there’s new music on the classical front that is both new and old, but new; a truly impressive three-volume live recording cycle comes to an end and music from the 60s that feels just as vital today.
My top pick is:
JAZZ: TWO-O DUO – John Clayton – Artist Share
Bassist/composer John Clayton is joined by his son, pianist/composer Gerald Clayton and vocalist René Marie for this positively captivating new album. Two-o Duo features new songs and covers of classics like Blue Bayou and Somewhere Over the Rainbow.
Opening with an utterly fresh take on Roy Orbison’s Blue Bayou sets the stage for the music that follows. Highlights are Gerald Clayton’s Nail in Need, La Orilla del Mundo which finds father-and-son playing beautifully together, Some Other Time, a breathtaking Come Sunday and Gerald Clayton’s Forth.
Even a song as regularly recorded as Somewhere Over the Rainbow feels new and fresh on Two-O-Duo.
You won’t find Two-o Duo on streaming services. ArtistShare is the way to get either a download or a CD. You can find the album HERE.
Here are the other fine recordings that are New in Music This Week: May 15th.
CLASSICAL: CONCERTI PER VARI STRUMENTI II – Antonio Vivaldi / Les Musiciens Du Prince-Monaco / Gianluca Capuano – Naïve Classiques
There are six concerti by Vivaldi on this album. They reflect a variety of combinations as was popular in the time.
Performed with great passion are the Concerto RV 570 in F Major, Concerto RV 557 in C Major, Concerto RV 543 in F Major, Concerto RV 553 in B-flat Major, Concerto RV 535 in D minor and the Concerto RV555 in C Major.
This is the first time I’ve heard Les Musiciens du prince – Monacowhich was formed in 2016 by Cecilia Bartoli and Jean-Louis Grinda.
Fans of Vivaldi’s music will find plenty to enjoy with this album.
CLASSICAL: FANNY MENDELSSOHN HENSEL: COMPLETE PIANO WORKS VOL. 1 – Ana-Marija Markovina – Hänssler Classic
Hensel was the younger sister of composer Felix Mendelssohn. On this first volume of her complete works, Markovina performs 78 pieces Hensel composed. There are four discs in this impressive recording and press notes indicate that half of these pieces have never been recorded before.
The 3 hours and 45 minutes listening to Markovina’s performance of these works flew by. The combination of her impressive playing and the discovery of so many new works left me looking forward to volume 2.
CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL: OR, THE WHALE – Caroline Shaw / Andrew Yee – Platoon
Longtime friends and collaborators Caroline Shaw (composer/vocalist) and Andrew Yee (cellist/member of Attaca Quartet) have created a delightfully fascinating album of mostly new music.
The Trees of Green-Wood, composed by Yee, is a hypnotic opening. The two co-wrote Moby Dick for a 2022 film by Wu Tsang. This is a suite of music from that film. The presence of that great whale is fully realized by Yee’s playing.
Shaw’s Shenandoah, Really Craft When You, Will There Be Any Stars in My Crown? And What Are You After further cement her standing as an exciting voice in contemporary classical music.
Yee’s The Light After is impressive and features outstanding playing. The lone piece one of these two didn’t compose is Olivier Messiaen’s Louange à l’Eternité de Jésus from Quatuor pour la fin du Temps.
With their thoughtful playing and exciting new music, Or, The Whale is a truly find recording.
JAZZ: ANY TIME AFTER NOW – Ben Wolfe – Resident Arts Records
Sometimes everything just clicks in a short amount of time and the result is surprising and deeply satisfying.
Any Time After Now from bassist/composer Wolfe is just such a project. Along with his four outstanding musicians (Sullivan Fortner on piano; Aaron Kimmel on drums; tenor saxophonist Chris Lewis and vibraphonist Joel Ross), they worked on the ten tracks on this album during a three-day stint at Dizzy’s Club in New York. They went into the studio just after that and recorded this album in one day.
The result is fresh, spontaneous and has a naturalism to it that studio albums often can’t provide.
I can’t single out any one track because I know my opinion will change the more time I spend with Wolfe’s album. There’s also a depth to this music that will gradually reveal more secrets with each listening.
JAZZ: CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE: BLUE NOTE IN THE PROGRESSIVE ‘60s – David Ambrosio / Victor Lewis / Donny McCaslin / Ingrid Jensen / Bruce Barth – Blue Frog Records
This album is certainly making a political statement, but I doubt bassist Ambrosio had any idea that the timing of its release would come after some very monumentally disturbing Supreme Court rulings about voting rights.
But here we are with an album filled with some of the most progressive jazz music from the 1960s.
The album opens for For Duke P. (aka XYZ) by Bobby Hutcherson. That’s followed by James Spaulding’s A Time to Go and was written in tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. Joe Chambers’ Irina is next. The penultimate track is Harold Land’s Poor People’s March written for the Poor People’s Campaign of 1968. Chambers’ Ankara closes out the album.
In addition to Ambrosio on bass, Barth plays piano; Jensen plays trumpet, Lewis on drums and McCaslin on sax.
Lewis, it should be noted, is a legendary drummer who has worked and recorded with Kenny Barron, Carla Bley, Art Farmer, Stan Getz, Bobby Hutcherson, Woody Shaw and many more.
This line-up of musicians brings new life and a renewed sense of urgency to these five compositions.
JAZZ: IMMANUEL WILKINS QUARTET: LIVE AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD VOL. 3 – Immanuel Wilkins Quartet – Blue Note Records
This epic three volume recording of performances at the Village Vanguard in New York comes to an impressive end with the final volume.
As a reminder, Wilkins played with Kweku Sumbry on drums, Ryoma Takenaga on bass and Micah Thomas on piano.
This volume has Ring Shout, Composition IX, Dolla$ and Put 100 on the Blue Chain.
All three volumes (as regular readers know) are essential listening. Don’t hesitate to hear Vol. 3 if you’ve heard the first two. Don’t hesitate to start with Volume 1 and make your way to this recording.
VINYL REISSUES:
CLASSICAL: BACH: MASS IN B MINOR, BWV 232 – Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment / Stephen Layton / The Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge – Hyperion Records
This widely praised 2018 recording was made at Trinity College Chapel in 2017. The soloists were Gwilym Bowen (tenor), Helen Charlston and Iestyn Davies (Altos), Neal Davies (bass) and Katherine Watson (soprano.)
The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment plays period instruments.
It is absolutely an outstanding recording.
Enjoy your weekend!
Enjoy the music!
Main Photo: Album art from Vivaldi: Concerti per Vari Strumenti II (Courtesy Naïve Classiques)