A little over two weeks ago, Elemental Music released an album of a performance at the Brycheiniog Theatre in Wales at the Brecon Jazz Festival. Pianist Kenny Barron led a trio, whose other members were Ray Drummond on bass and drummer Ben Riley. The full title of the album is So Many Lovely Things: Live in Brecon.
This is a generous offering: ten tracks distributed across two CDs providing one hour and 48 minutes of music. This is jazz as I like to listen to it (as, presumably, at least some readers will have guessed from encounters with previous jazz articles). Barron delivers a solid upbeat rhetoric in his keyboard work but also makes sure that both Drummond and Riley can pursue explorations of their own.
Front cover of the album being discussed
I have to wonder why it took three decades before this generous content was released. Physical packaging is a fold-out of two sleeves, providing only four surfaces for printed content. Two of them are, of course, the front (with a photograph of the three musicians) and the back, with a usefully detailed track listing. On the inside, the left-hand side provides three individual black-and-white photographs and most of the production details.
That leaves the other side for an essay by American jazz journalist Ted Panken. The advance material I received describes this as “extensive liner notes and detailed tune annotations;” but I am afraid that there is more about the background than about the music itself. Personally, I think that those familiar with twentieth-century jazz will have no trouble finding their own way through the inventive tropes of all three of the players. Those not previously acquainted with at least three of the tunes might do well to build up a bit of background before venturing into this album!
No comments:
Post a Comment