Bennett and Duke Violin Concertos (CD Review)

by Ryan Ross 

Robert Russell Bennett: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in A Major (“In the Popular Style”); Vernon Duke [Vladimir Alexandrovich Dukelsky]: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra. Chloë Hanslip, violinist; Andrew Litton, conductor; Singapore Symphony Orchestra. Chandos CHSA 5371

This is one of those recordings: extended orchestral works by composers who made their mark very much elsewhere. In this case we have a pair of figures who worked in the American show business, one as an orchestrator and the other as a songwriter (primarily). To be honest, the results are about what you’d expect: respectable efforts that go over well enough but probably won’t blow your hair back. Think John Williams’s concertos, or Meredith Willson’s symphonies, or anything by Danny Elfman that is not film or TV music. You get the picture.

 

We’ll take the more successful of these two concertos first. Robert Russell Bennett wisely decided to write a lighter work explicitly “in the popular style.” This translates to some fetching themes across four movements, and an overall breeziness that shows a composer not taking himself too seriously. The jaunty first movement lasts 11+ minutes and, even if it slightly overstays its welcome by the end, elicits plenty of goodwill. The remaining sections are much shorter, my favorite of which is a lovely ABA second span heavily influenced by the theater. Nothing here rivals the Barber Violin Concerto (probably the American masterpiece in the genre), but I can see the work being successful if programmed occasionally, all the more since it clocks in at under 25 minutes and ends with a rousing send-off. As a bonus, we next get the short Hexapoda studies for violin and piano – delightfully fluffy music.

 

If I’m in a generous mood, I might argue that the Robert Russell Bennett Violin Concerto is actually a touch more compelling than the Williams, Willson, and Elfman fare I named earlier. But not even on my best day would I say the same for this Duke Concerto. It lasts only 29 or so minutes but feels longer. There is nothing offensive in it, to be sure, but its angular themes just meander and fail to hold interest. Drab orchestral and harmonic colors predominate, with only very brief moments of Songwriter Vernon Duke peeking through now and then. I was sometimes reminded of Prokofiev, but did not feel Sergei Sergeyevich’s strong personality. Duke would have done better to let his Broadway side take over more, as RRB did. Slenderer compositional voices should be strategic about where they direct energy and attempt to make impacts. Because when all is said and done, April in Paris packs more of a punch than any of the scores emanating from Duke’s classical ambitions.

 

The performances themselves are terrific. They exude about as much zip and skill as I can imagine, and (certainly in terms of sound quality) outclass their scant competition in the catalogue (Cambria CAMCD-1078 and Urlicht UAV5990, as far as I can tell). More importantly, I sense the earnestness of Hanslip and Litton loud and clear. Both scores absolutely need this. In the end, we have another Chandos winner. If you’re going to record and package this music, do it like it’s done here. Whether or not that music is terribly distinguished is another matter.

Berta Rojas – The Journey of Strings

by Bill Heck

Santiago de Murcia: La huella del Códice; El Canario (traditional); Ángel Mislán: Sara; Daniel Saboya: Bambuco Pá Billy; Popi Spatocco and Sebastián Henríquez: Tierra Mía; Elodie Bouny: El Mar, La Montaña, Los Llanos; Félix Pérez Cardozo: Che la Reina; Gustavo Santaolalla: The Last of Us. Berta Rojas, guitar; multiple artists.

In my reviews for Classical Candor, I seem to be on a roll, or rather two rolls: music for guitar and musical “projects.” This release combines both streams: Berta Rojas and colleagues have given us a history of stringed instruments, those in what we might call the guitar family, using a book, an app, multiple videos and, of course, music. Naturally, producing such a work – one that Rojas and her colleagues mean to be a living, breathing history – involved research, but it involved so much more: traveling internationally, especially in Latin America, to find instruments and the musicians who play them and recording the performances that bring their history to life.

Most readers will know that the musical instruments that we hear today evolved over the last few centuries. This is especially true of stringed instruments, and even today we see multiple versions that are strummed or plucked like the guitar, such as the ukulele and mandolin, not to mention guitar variations such as twelve- and even seven-string versions. What is less widely known is that there are many more variations of guitar-like instruments, both historical and present day, primarily associated with Spain and various Latin American countries. Instruments such as vihuela and the charango not only were but, in many cases, are still are played. This project identified no fewer than thirteen such instruments in addition to the modern classical guitar!

With that capsule summary in mind, if learning and hearing more sounds appealing – and it should, especially if you have a particular interest in classical guitar – a good place to start is the project website. Scroll down and look at the “full documentary” video, which provides a 33-minute project overview and background. (Most of the interviews are in Spanish or Portuguese, but well-translated English subtitles are there as needed.)

Berta Rojas

The musical heart of the project is a series of 10 selections, each in the four-to-five-minute range. All the pieces are “Latin” in flavor, but that includes a range of styles from several periods, including the present. Each piece features Rojas, usually on a standard guitar, plus one or more stringed instruments that derive from or are related to the guitar. The selections are superbly played, excellently recorded, and eminently listenable. You can experience them in the form of music videos, which can be found on the project website or in a YouTube playlist here. But if you want to hear them in their full glory, you can find them on major streaming service services (although not on Qobuz, an omission that I hope is remedied soon), or purchase and download them from the usual sources, or go for the project boxed set that includes an LP (see below for details on that last option).

But that’s by no means all. Scrolling down further in that YouTube playlist, you’ll find a series of “Behind the Scenes” videos. Each of these provides background discussions about the corresponding musical selection, with topics ranging from history and construction of the instruments to musical analysis and much more. I found these invariably interesting; most are longer than the musical selections themselves.

I’ve mentioned videos a couple of times. Unlike some simple classical music videos that use a static camera or perhaps a few random cutaways, these are quite well produced and visually interesting. Thoughtful editing helps to focus not only on techniques used by the players but also show the joy that the musicians obviously have in playing their instruments and their music.

Finally, to bring multiple threads together we have a single package comprising a book, an app, and an LP. The book is a large format, lavishly illustrated 60+ pages with introductions to each musical work, the instruments used, and the musicians performing the work, all with text in both Spanish and English. (I reviewed a preproduction electronic copy.) The app, which is downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, is keyed to the book: in the app, you scan markers in the book to launch 3-D illustrations of the instruments described. You can move the instruments around virtually with your fingers to better see their construction, and you can even strum the strings by swiping. Finally, the LP contains all the musical selections. This package is available for purchase on Amazon and Strings by Mail. (As an aside, I hope that at some point the book may be available with a CD or as a standalone product for those don’t have turntables to play LPs.)

Now that we have all the components, and because Classical Candor reviews musical performances, let’s return to the music itself. As I mentioned earlier, the performances are excellent. Rojas is a well-known and respected guitarist, so virtuosity is hardly a surprise. It (almost) goes without saying that tone and intonation are impeccable. But I was even more impressed with the fluidity of her playing, how even the most difficult passages just seem to flow forward, a combination of technical mastery and an obvious love for what she is doing.

Playing "El Canario" (The Canary)

Then again, Rojas’s capabilities are a given. What may be even more gratifying is that the musicians who accompany her are virtuosos in their own rights. This applies not only to those who play the stringed instruments of note, but to every musician involved, including those playing in what amounts to a chamber orchestra accompaniment for the last three selections of the series. The compositions here, while immediately appealing, are also musically complex and demand a high degree of skill. If by any chance you imagined that finding lesser-known instruments and their players would involve hobbyists plucking out simple melodies or just strumming a few chords on instruments made from found materials, forget it. Everyone and everything here is, as they say, professional grade. That applies to the entire range of music, whether from earlier periods (such as the 15th century piece attributed to guitarist Santiago de Murcia) or our current time (such as the South American Triptych, commissioned by Rojas and composed by Elodie Bouny).

At this point, I’ve run into a dilemma: on one hand, this review is getting on in length; on the other, I feel as though I’ve only scratched the surface. I suppose that’s the occupational hazard of taking on a review of a multi-part project like this one. So I’ll summarize: Rojas’s project offers something for everyone. Those who simply want to listen can enjoy the music via download, streaming, or the LP, and hearing the unique sounds of lesser-known stringed instruments will be a welcome bonus. Those who are more curious about the instruments, the music, and the musicians can watch the videos, particularly the behind-the-scenes ones. And those who are ready to take a deeper dive can do so with the book and app. With all the options and components, you have a project to which you can return repeatedly, finding something new each time.

Belonging on ECM and Blue Note (CD Reviews)

 by Karl Nehring

Keith Jarrett: Belonging. Spiral Dance (4:11); Blossom (12:15); ‘Long as You Know You’re Living Yours (6:14); Belonging (2:15); The Windup (8:27); Solstice (13:13). Keith Jarrett, piano; Jan Garbarek, saxophones; Palle Danielsson, bass; Jon Christensen, drums. ECM 1050

 

Branford Marsalis Quartet: Belonging. Keith Jarrett: Spiral Dance (6:21); Blossom (11:02); ‘Long as You Know You’re Living Yours (8:56); Belonging (7:36); The Windup (12:41); Solstice (14:20). Branford Marsalis, saxophones; Joey Calderazzo, piano; Eric Revis, bass; Justin Faulkner, drums. Blue Note 00602475486596

 

In the world of classical music we think nothing of there being numerous recordings of the same repertoire. Whether we want to listen to a recording of a Beethoven symphony, Schubert song, Mozart string quartet, or Stravinsky ballet score, we have an almost overwhelming number of versions from which to choose. In the heyday of record stores, a shopper looking for a version of, say, Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony could flip through a dozen or so competing versions on LP, then later, on CD. Today, the choices are even wider on streaming services, where entering “Beethoven Symphony No. 5” as a search term will yield an overwhelming number of choices (I just tried it on Amazon Music and got way more than 100). In the jazz world, however, things are different. Although there are certainly many recordings to be found of many jazz tunes – ‘Round Midnight by Thelonious Monk and Take the A Train by Duke Ellington, for example – to have a jazz album be recorded by two different ensembles is a rare occurrence indeed.

The original Belonging album was recorded in Oslo in two days in April, 1974. All the tunes were written by Jarrett. This was the debut of what came to be known as his “European Quartet,” as opposed to his “American Quartet,” which featured Dewey Redman (saxophone), Charlie Haden (double bass), and Paul Motian (drums). Because Jarrett was under contract to ABC/Impulse for that group, he was unable to attach his name to his European ensemble for either recording or touring, so the album cover simply lists the names of the musicians. Of the six tunes, three are ballads (Blossom, Belonging, Solstice), while the other three are more hard driving (Spiral Dance, ‘Long As You Know You’re Living Yours, The Windup). “It was the fastest album I’ve ever done,” Jan Garbarek would later say, referring to Jarrett’s emphasis on first takes in the studio to capture the spirit of the pieces. The music flows spontaneously and organically, drawing the listener in. “The album Belonging ranks with the greatest quartet recordings in jazz,” wrote Keith Jarett biographer Ian Carr, “because everything about it is superlative: the compositions, the free-flowing interplay, the level of inspiration and the brilliantly focused improvising of all four musicians.” It is one of those albums that although by no means “easy listening jazz” (e.g., Kenny G), can appeal to a wide variety of listeners, even those not familiar with the idiom. Not long after Belonging was released, I gave a copy of the LP to a couple who did not listen to much jazz at all. They loved it. 

As a side note, it turned out that there were some people who may have loved the album a bit too much. The tune 'Long as You Know You're Living Yours wound up being the subject of a lawsuit between Jarrett and the rock group Steely Dan. Jarrett alleged that the title track from their 1980 album Gaucho had stolen from the song (I must say that the first time I heard the Steely Dan song, the music immediately struck me as an homage to Keith Jarrett). Co-writer Donald Fagen of Steely Dan, a huge jazz buff, later admitted he'd loved the track from Belonging and was strongly influenced by it. Jarrett sued for copyright infringement and was then added as a co-author of the song.

 

Half a century later, Belonging has been named Downbeat magazine’s 2025 Recording of the Year – but for a recording by the Branford Marsalis Quartet on the venerable Blue Note label rather than Keith Jarrett and his European ensemble on ECM. Marsalis admits that he was into other music when Belonging was released in 1974. “I was a freshman in high school, listening to R&B,” he recalls. “I didn’t know Belonging existed.” That changed once he shifted his focus to jazz, although he was only familiar with Jarrett’s solo piano music until pianist Kenny Kirkland introduced him to the Jarrett’s European Quartet. “We were sitting on a plane sometime in the 80s and Kenny put his headphones on my ears and played [Jarrett’s 1979 album] My Song. When he tried to take the headphones back after five minutes I slapped his hand away; and when we got to the next city, I went out and bought every recording by that band.” 

A similar discovery occurred when Marsalis decided to include the tune The Windup from Belonging on his band’s most recent album, 2019’s The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul. “We were all listening to The Windup for the last record, and Revis said that we should just record Belonging, the whole album is so great and we could do things with it. We all liked the idea, and then the pandemic came. When the pandemic ended, we all still felt that yeah, we should do this.” The quartet applied Marsalis’s previous approach to classics by Charles Mingus, the Modern Jazz Quartet, John Coltrane, and others – neither slavish devotion to the originals nor extreme deconstructions. “On the composition Belonging, I clearly played things that Jan played on the record,” Marsalis points out. “I didn’t try to reject the idea when it occurred, but at no point did we plan to consciously pay tribute. I’m always listening to the whole record, not just the saxophone solos, and the most impressive thing about Belonging for me is how it all fits together.”

If you go back and look at the headers for the two albums above, you’ll note that I have taken the unusual step of including the timings for each tune. If you compare the two albums, you’ll see that Marsalis’s band stretched out the tunes longer in every instance except for one, the ballad Blossom. The title track, Belonging, is the most notable example of this more expansive approach, coming it at more than three times as long as interpreted by Branford and his crew. In general, the newer album has a more propulsive feel, both in performance and sound. Marsalis’s saxophone sound is warmer and fuller than that of Garbarek, and Faulkner takes a more aggressive approach to his drumkit than did Christensen. It is fascinating to play these two albums back-to-back and compare the two approaches: the more lyrical original versus the more expansive, energetic tribute. Both the Jarrett 1974 ECM original and Marsalis 2025 Blue Note tribute version are recordings that deserve a place in the collection of jazz fans, and both are well worth a listen by those unfamiliar with jazz but willing to give it a try.

 

Live Concert Report: Immanuel Wilkins 

 

On a bitterly cold night in central Ohio, we ventured once again to the Performance Space inside the Wexner Center for the Arts on the campus of The Ohio State University campus to enjoy an evening of music, this time featuring a jazz ensemble led by alto saxophone player Immanuel Wilkins. The rest of his band included a keyboardist who played both piano and organ, a double bass player, a drummer, plus one male and two female vocalists (When he first took the stage, Wilkins introduced his bandmates, but I really couldn’t catch their names, and there was no printed program identifying them, alas). The vocalists often used their voices as instruments, weaving them together and playing off each other rather than just “singing songs.” There were some lyrics from time to time; however, the PA system made it hard to follow just what was being sung. Musically, however, the sound of the vocals blended in with the sound of the instruments in a natural-sounding way. Wilkins rarely stepped front and center but rather blew his lines as a part of the whole rather than being the solo focus. The musical mood was warmly communicative.

A Concert Report from Ethan Iverson:

 

Pianist and composer Ethan Iverson recently attended an exciting concert at Zankel Hall in New York. Below is a brief excerpt from his report on the concert followed by a link to his full Substack post. And once again I would advise music fans to subscribe to Ethan’s Substack, Transitional Technology, which offers a world of insight into music and culture.

 

“Last night American music leveled up! Pianistic virtuosity, groove rhythm, and long-term structural control aligned in a way that had never quite been previously achieved. 

 

A century ago jazz happened, and for a moment it looked like the American classical composers (Gershwin, Copland, Barber) were going to make blues and ragtime part of the sonata and symphony idiom. But that blend was elbowed out first by disjunct high modernism (Babbitt and Carter) and then straight up and down minimalism (Glass and Reich). A lot was left on the table, and in the current free-for-all of postmodernism, bright lights such as Derek Bermel and Tania León have been working on bringing back soulful syncopation to formal composition. 

 

But there are two sides to this fusion: Writing the music is one thing, playing it is another. That’s the unprecedented part: Aaron Diehl and Timo Andres can play the beat for real. The concert concluded with my lips from speaking by Julia Wolfe, a long process piece based on a fragment of Aretha Franklin. It’s an intellectual gambit, an atomizing of a riff, a deconstruction of an emotion: part noise, part space. But as the piece evolves, the beat starts coming out. By midpoint, the audience at Zankel was helplessly grooving to the syncopated rhythm. I have never heard this hall turned into a club before.” 

 You can find Ethan's complete concert report here.