A PASSION FOR VINYL RECORDS

Monday, June 28, 2010

Waltz for Debby

Recorded at the Village Vanguard in 1961, shortly before Scott LaFaro's death. Waltz for Debby is the second album issued from that historic session, and the final one from that legendary trio that also contained drummer Paul Motian.

When one sits and listens to this record (whether it be a CD or Vinyl) you are immediately transported back into time and if one closes ones eyes you can visualize the smokey room, the clink of glasses, the gentle hum of voices and the most amazing sound to radiate from a Piano to encompass the entire room.

Jazz, not just a word but a way of life for many musicians now and those that came before. This particular album is a real jem, like a well cut diamond that has had all its rough edges smoothed out and it doesn't just glow it radiates heat within the soul.

The material that Evans choose to put on this "Waltz for Debby" is very revealing in its emotions that runs deep within a Trio that is as closely knit at this Trio was.

This is a must listen to record for all Jazz people, and those that are just learning about the quality of the great Jazz Players of past times.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Arthur Grumiaux

Arthur Grumiaux, born March 21, 1921, died October 16, 1986 of a stroke, was a Belgian violinist famous for his musicality. Arthur Grumiaux's performances are exemplars of civilisation. Never banal, never outrageous, but always urbane yet interesting, his interpretations are the epitome of intelligent quality served by unfailing technique, where the interpretation seems to grow from the player's knowledge of his instrument and the score he is rendering.

His phrasing, and the subtle but strong sound he produced were related to his immaculate technique. Despite having a prodigious technique, his recordings never sound as though they are exploiting it: instead, the technique is always at the service of the music. He is one of those rare soloists who never sounds as if he is hurried, or struggling with his material. A measure of his standing can be had from the inclusion on the spacecraft Voyager golden record of a movement from his recording of the Bach Partitas for solo violin.

His recordings of Bach, Beethoven (the Violin Concerto recording is one of the masterpieces of the twentieth century), Mozart, Schubert and others are the stuff legends are made of. Philips, for whom he primarily recorded, have mined his catalogue for decades, and most of his recordings are still available, often on the value for money DUO series. The Mozart chamber works (recorded with his own band), notable the String Quintets and the Trio K563 are highlights among these riches. There could be no better introduction to the delights of chamber music than Philips 446 234-2 which has String Quintet K 516 (G minor) and the aforementioned Trio. This is a true desert island disc.

Recently, a little of his catalogue has been remastered by PentaTone Classics and re-released on the label as hybrid SACD/CD's. If the Beethoven Violin Concerto is anything to go by, we can only hope that more will follow. The slightly dry recorded sound produced by Philips has disappeared and in its place is a rich, full orchestral sound with the violin beautifully positioned within it. Grumiaux's superb musicianship remains unaffected of course.

Here is a violinist who is always on form, always dependable, yet never ordinary or boring. No sensationalisim, just the creme de la creme. If you're new to classical music, you can rely on his quality: if you know classical music he needs no introduction at all.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

ROBERT JOHNSON : Bluesman and Icon

I remember hearing "The King of the Delta Blues" LP for the first time about three or four years after it came out and, although I had heard perhaps more country blues than most Kiwi teenagers of the time, I had never heard anything like it before. It made a similar impression on most people. If you liked folk or country blues it was a revelation. For anyone else it was the primitive howling of black trash, the equivalent of the equally unknown white trash String band sound of early country music.

Robert Johnson was a delta blues man, who produced all of his significant work in the mid to late thirties of last century, at two recording sessions in San Antonio and Dallas. Johnson's style was characterised by impassioned vocals accompanied by a guitar style which embodied many of the styles he had picked up in his travels, yet retained the essential wild sound to match his vocals. He had more varied style than some of the earlier bluesmen from the twenties, who tended to be unknown outside their local area, and his travels throughout the South undoubtedly helped to broaden his range. In developing this wider stylistic range than his contemporaries Johnson introduced new ideas into what has become known as Delta blues. He represents the end of the development of the genre and, as such, is it's apogee. That John Hammond tried to sign him for the legendary Spirituals to Swing concert at Carnegie Hall is a measure of his importance, and fame, in the field. When Hammond discovered he was dead he didn't attempt to locate another delta bluesman, but instead went for the relatively urbane but brilliantly skillful Big Bill Broonzy.

In many ways Johnson's reputation has benefited from a variety of fortuitous advantages. The Brunswick label which he recorded for was one of the middle stream companies in terms of audio fidelity and his records thus sound a lot better than many of his contemporaries who were often recorded on such poor quality labels as Paramount, whose discs were pressed on furniture shellac. Further, the same John Hammond who had sought him for the Spirituals and Swing concert in 1939 happened to be a fan, and was also an independently wealthy A&R man for Columbia during the fifties and sixties. Hammond had a personal collection of Johnson discs and in the early sixties produced two LP's for Columbia entitled "The King of the Delta Blues". The LP's received no promotion, except Hammond's enthusiastic demonstration of them to anyone who would listen, which, because of his position and legendary status at Columbia was a who's who of American rock. Dion DiMucci recalls Hammond insisting that he listen, and being blown away by what he heard. It sold slowly but in the millions - a genuine sleeper. I'm not aware of any promotion ever.

Claims that are made for Johnson being the most important of all blues singers (referring of course to country blues), rest on these legendary LP's and the influence they had. It is true that Johnson was among the best of the delta blues men, but he was by no means the only important figure and several others made equal contributions (eg; Willie Moore, Charlie Patton) to the style. What singles out Robert Johnson is that, when today's crop of bluesmen such as Clapton were getting going, most of the other delta bluesmen's work was simply unavailable, at least to middle class white boys in the UK, the States or even New Zealand and these guys were the new crop of bluesmen. Johnson wasn't just good quality, he was practically all the delta blues there was so far as the sixties electric blues revival was concerned. Consequently, the influence of "The King of the Delta Blues" is hard to over estimate. Virtually every aspiring blues man was heavily influenced by it, often to the point of outright imitation. Only early Chicago figures such as Muddy Waters and his associates rank with him.

Intamusic Imports would like to thank one of our customers John S. for this write up.