Volume 16 Issue 4 - December 2010

international musical dialogue.”Kudos to her, to the wonderful CopenhagenPhilharmonic and conductor Lan Shui– and to the composers of these wonderfulpieces.—Alison MelvilleConcert Note: Toronto with events January 23 through29. Chen’s Yangko is also included inSoundstreams Canada’s January 25 concertLou Harrison - Scenes from CavafyGamelan Pacifica; Jarrad PowellNew World Records 80710-2(www.newworldrecords.org)style gamelan on this album. The Seattlecomposer and expert gamelan musicianJarrad Powell convincingly directs the extendedensemble of instrumentalists, choirand vocal soloists in the three works here.The Concerto for Piano with JavaneseGamelansolo instruments and the gamelan. The pianois retuned to match the gamelan. This is aneffect which provides bracing listening atthe slow cantabile movement, a Harrisonspecialty.A Soedjatmoko Set (1989) illustratingHarrison’s mature gamelan style, featuresJessika Kenney, an outstanding Americanmusical tasks: to convincingly nail a sort ofmagical amalgam of both Javanese and late20th c. American vocal style, articulation,timbre, intonation and mood, at the sametime. Together with the excellent liner notes,son’sideal of the peaceful coexistence ofworld music cultures, demonstrated here at avery high level indeed.—Andrew TimarThe long list ofnon-Indonesian composerswho havebeen intrigued andinspired by the instrumentsand musicof the gamelan (anindigenous Indonesianorchestra) goesback some 250 years. Starting with Jean-JAZZ AND IMPROVISEDPhilippe Rameau in the 18th c., the lineage- Tracing Lightto works of Steve Reich and to many more Laila Bialimusicians active today.Independent LB09102There was no more eager convert to the (www.lailabiali.com)everthan the American composer Lou Har- Laila Biali has had quite a year – adozens of works for various types of gamelans,Harrison served as a generous men-vocalist with Sting,new gig as backingtor to a generation of musicians who have a new baby and nowsubsequently taken the gamelan music modelinto their own musical domains. These in-Light” is the thirdclude Toronto’s Evergreen Club Contempor- solo album for the Vancouver-raised,The top-notch musicians of the latter per- composer.scale Harrison works for Central Javanese Although Biali started out her still-burgeoningcareer as a jazz piano player whoher singing that predominates. All the tunesexcept two – an instrumental and anotherdulhamid,both of which Biali composed –feature Biali’s light pretty voice, which is atdisc starts strong with an absolutely stunningcover of Imogen Heap’s Let Go, featuringLarnell Lewis’s exquisite drumming.(Lewis is a standout throughout the disc,turning in some of the most exciting drumwork I’ve heard in a long time.) The Best IsYet to Come is shaken out of its customarycasual groove and turned into a barn burnerwith Lewis and bassist and producer GeorgeKoller driving the tempo and Biali rightthere with them coolly and capably navigatingmultiple key changes. The disc closesout with Biali alone on Billy Joel’s And So ItGoes to which she adds a layer of harmoniccomplexity on piano and fathoms of emotionaldepth to the poignant lyrics.—Cathy RichesConcert Note: Laila Biali is performing alive-to-air concert with Lewis and Koller onThe Forgotten 1949 Carnegie Hall ConcertNat King ColeHEP Records CD 91 local music collectorand archivist has,since the 90’s, madea living restoring archivalrecordings.Recently he cameup with a winner –Carnegie Hall, never issued until now.Irving Ashby, guitar, Joe Comfort, bassand Jack Costanzo on bongos make up thetrio and the programme consisting, for thesmooth as silk with Cole’s smoky voice makingeach song sound as if it were written forhim. At the time the group was touring as a-The concert was recorded on acetates,a not uncommon practice at Carnegie inthose days. Bass and guitar are somewhatunderrecorded, not the fault of the restorationprocess, and I would have liked to heartake away from the overall feeling of beingpresent at a pretty special event.Congratulations to everyone involvedin making this performance available. Ifisn’t, you will want to add this one to yourcollection. Edinburgh, Scotland, owned by AlastairRobertson. The label has a catalogue of his-accessed at www.hepjazz.com.—Jim GallowayOne Take Volume FourJoey Defrancesco; Robi Botos;Vito Rezza; Phil DwyerAlma ACD11912(www.almarecords.com)72 thewholenote.comDecember 1, 2010 - February 7, 2011One Take is exactly what it says – a freewheelingsession of straight ahead jazz withno rehearsal, no edits, no overdubs – justfour masters of their craft blending theirskills together to create almost an hour’sworth of high octane jazz. take no prisoners when the music starts.Everybody is at the top of his game, althoughas a saxophone player I feel I have to