Grappelli relaxes

Press, 12 February 1986, Page 18

Grappelli relaxes

By

ALLAN FRANCIS

STEPHANE GRAPPELLI. “Vintage 1981.” Nine tracks by Stephan Grappelli, violin, Mike Gari and Martin Taylor, guitars, and Jack Sewing, bass. CONCORD JAZZ 39569.

After 50 years or so or immense activity, Grappelli has mellowed to give us these mature versions of mainly standards, but with directness and less of the feeling that demands “listen to me, how clever I am.”

There is less baroque ornamentation that marked his partnership with Yehudi Menuhin: less bustle and more of the sophistication we might have expected soon after his emancipation from Django Reinhardt. Consequently, Grappelli in this form is far more enjoyable; more convincing than he has been for some time. If an exception has to be made it must be the later recording “Just One of Those Things” (EMC 221) — which embodied the best of the ideas expounded on the Concord date, with

VIEWERS’ VIEWS

Congratulations Sir,—Heartiest congratulations to the TV programme director who arranged “Peter Baillie’s Vienna” on “Entertainment Showcase” on Sunday, February 9, at 7 p.m. It was such a joy to see something worth while on TV instead of all the fighting and sordid programmes which the viewers have to put up with. It also brought back happy memories of my visit to Vienna a few years ago and I am sure many viewers would endorse my sentiments. I

hope we get more programmes similar. — Yours, etc., M. I. GRANT. February 10, 1986.

some of the same musicians present on both occasions. Even in the up-tempo numbers “But Not For Me” and “I’m Coming Virginia” he never gets as mechanical or as overblown as he did in some patches earlier. One can only marvel at the truly wonderful talent he shows there and in the ballads "Blue Moon” or “I Can’t Get Started.” On one occasion he stands aside for his British guitarist, Martin Taylor, to expound an equal flair on his own, “Jamie.” The rest are all standards. Carefully selected so as not to Include ones which might have been recorded before, there are still one or two which strike a chord — “Paper Moon” and “Blue Moon,” for instance. Grappelli weaves some astonishing patterns with his relaxed style here though. He appears to relish his accompanists and his freedom even more. For the first time he has no need to foot it with those of greater elan than his, although one has to admit that there is a faint whiff of Yehudi Menuhin in some emotional lines. On the other hand, there is none of the glib quality that was more offputting still. At 73, he has reached into another dimension of the highest quality, if somewhat skimpy in recording time COUNT BASIE. Big Band Bounce and Boogie. AFFINITY Import AFS 1010. JAZZ CLASSICS VOL. 3 (NEW YORK). FESTIVAL L 38266, also Cassette. Jazz students of all ages will appreciate the digital sound that is bringing us the most illustrious of the old jazz masters in such fine form. This worldwide trend has peaked with the Australian Robert Parker, a technician with rare musical leanings that obviously magnify the whole process.

Previous volumes in the series for Festival covered New Orleans and Chicago, so this rough classification of New York

is timely, as it is wellconceived.

The Basie, on restricted import licence, is simply the old numbers that came out many times, but in such dreadful sound quality that made one wonder just what all the excitement was about.

Of all groups that suffered from shoddy sound, Basie must have been close to the worst. Those 1937/38 tracks were so far out of balance and tonal quality that the band sounded thin, ragged and rough. The difference is quite staggering; Buck Clayton’s immaculate horn rising above the ensemble with \ great authority, leading, ,■ prompting, bustling. The ■' famous rhythm section— > Jones, Page and Green — 1 driving the band along to ... those brass riffs which » were the trademark of Basie, the big band. Lester Young’s tenor is heard ’ to advantage.

Volume three of Robert Parker’s personal triumph in jazz history covers \ many of the older hands ? who made little impact on £ younger jazz students, if ? only because of muddy ; sounds restricting musical < technique. Low-key players such as Eddie < Lang, Joe Venuti or Bes- j sie Smith gain much from •< the new technique.

Fats Waller’s zest needs Y little artificial aid to bring J him to the fore with “Minor Drag” or Cab Calloway with the flamboyant “Minnie the -- Moocher.” The band qual- “ ity in Ellington’s "East St Louis Toodle-oo,” •• Fletcher Henderson’s “Sugar Foot Stomp" or •. King Oliver’s "Struggle Buggy” gains immensely. But what might be the ) feature of the whole pack- ! age is Jimmie Lunceford’s . “Stratosphere.” This one really makes this particu- ; lar venture worth while. On the other hand, Paul Whiteman playing "San” ; is totally dispensable, his - jazz content being no ' more nor less than it was •« in the thirties.

At last, older collectors can throw away their 78s, • young students can buy with confidence, while the ; rest of us can hear these ' musicians in something approaching reality.