Schifrin: Piano Works
Mirian Conti, piano
Grand Piano 776
Total Time:  73:19
Recording:   n/a (download)
Performance: ****/****

 Jean-Michel Bernard Plays Lalo Shifrin

Jean-Michel Bernard, piano
Susan Andon, flute. Kyle Eastwood, electric bass. Kimiko Ono, vocal.
Lalo Shifrin, piano.
Grand Piano 776
Total Time:  73:19
Recording:   n/a (download)
Performance: ****/****

Lalo Schifrin turned 85 this year and as part of the celebration two quite unique albums are celebrating the composer’s work from two somewhat similar angles but with quite differing results.

On the more classical side, there is Mirian Conti’s new release of nine “premiere recordings”.  Really, these are works that come from Schifrin’s catalogue but which he has carefully reworked and adapted to highlight Conti’s style, often quite brilliantly.  This includes a new piano version of Mission: Impossible from an earlier 1973 version.  The album plays up Schifrin’s Argentinean connections, Conti herself being known for her exploration of unique Argentinean and other repertoire.  The release includes piecs that are somewhat extensions of Ginastera or Granados with a bit of Piazzolla, jazz, and a lot of Schifrin.  The 1997 film Tango is a bit of the jumping off point for three works exploring this Argentinean dance beginning with “Tango del Atardecer” from the film.  Two similarly tango-infused works (“Tango a Borges”, and “La Calle y la Luna” both from 2005) appear as bookends of the more classical centerpieces.  Two musical landscapes appear as well.  Pampas (2009) is a more classical impressionistic depiction which incorporates folk dances and is inspired more from the country’s flatlands.  The “Danza de los Montes” heads to the Northeastern part of the country for inspiration.  Both feature added extended jazz harmonies and modern language of Piazzolla, allowing for Conti to explore a blend of lyricism and rhythmic accents.

At the center of the album is one of Schifrin’s earliest works, the Jazz Piano Sonata, Op. 1.  Rather than go at jazz idioms from the more stylized classical approaches of Copland or Schuller, or the Tin Pan Alley styles of Gershwin’s concert music, Schifrin turned to classic jazz musicians like Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, and John Coltrane.  This infuses the music with a different idiomatic sensibility that explores elements of jazz and leads to a work that must be as “felt” as it is precise.  The first movement opens with a series of block extended chords that become the pillars around a jagged motive that is then developed into some lyrical moments.  The whole though feels like an improvisation around this idea with the harmony moving from more dissonant blocks to lyrical extensions that spread out these rich jazz chords.  The central movement has a gentle melodic line that reaches outward against ostinato arpeggio lines.  It has a rather reflective quality which seems to become more tortuous as this “Andante” moves into the central section.  The Theme and 10 Variations on an Original Theme (2016) has Schifrin playing with styles further, though here it is on the more classical side with references to everyone from Mozart to Stravinsky as the composer’s variations are like a snapshot of music through time.  The fun here is in recognizing the references as Schifrin’s theme is wound through them.  The album closes with a touching Lullaby for Jack (2016) written for the composer’s grandson.

The release opens with two of the composer’s funkier themes for Mannix and Bullitt.  The jazz combo has some great bass here helping to push the music forward with great energy.  Some gorgeous flute work appears by Susan Andon on the theme for Cool Hand Luke.  It makes for a nice light contrast.  This shifts to a brief combo version of music from Dirty Harry films reminiscent of the orchestral concert version and adding some funkier jazz.  Kyle Eastwood pops in to play electric bass.  Music from The Fox (including the song derived from the main theme,  “That Night”, featuring Kimiko Ono), Les Felins, Mission: Impossible, and The Cincinnati Kid (one of the many highlights on the album!) provide a good traversal of Schifrin’s classic music.  There are also several little nods to Schifrin’s classic 1960s albums with “Lalo’s Bossa Nova” and the “Tango del Atardecer”, the latter being a more classically-stylized work.  Schifrin joins in for a couple duets as well.  This includes a run through of “Manteca”, “Chano” and a suite Bernard pulled together of music from Che! and the Sinfonia Concertante.  A rather odd blend of classical and popular tunes is a sort of free fantasy before moving directly into the popular “The Plot” from Mission: Impossible.  The flow of the album works very well as we move through moments that will be quite familiar to Schifrin fans to some of the lesser known tracks.  A jazz ballad version of the Mannix theme rounds things off nicely.

Bernard’s work here is stellar with some great interpretations of Schifrin’s classic themes shifting from piano to fender Rhodes and even a B3 organ (for “The Cat” from Les Felins).  The album’s additional guest soloists allows for good contrast so that the album smoothly plays out without becoming to heavy in any one place.  The performances are faithful to the music’s text with jazz improvisations happening quite naturally in smaller swaths but always very much in tune with Schifrin’s style.  Certainly it is one of the highlights of the Varese catalogue and an obvious labor of love for all involved.

One of the interesting things about Shifrin’s career is that it included studies with the great Oliver Messiaen.  This may have influenced some of the harmonics of the sonata here, and even the way color plays out in the composer’s work, but there is a lot of great rhythmic writing that has always made the composer’s film and concert work engaging.  Both albums are worth tracking down to hear the great variety and craft of one of the 20^th Century’s important film composers.

 Dress Code
Altius Quartet
Navona Records 6078
Total Time:  57:32
Recording:   ****/****
Performance: ****/****

The Altius Quartet formed at Southern Methodist University in 2011 and currently is the quartet-in-residence at the University of Colorado-Boulder.  The provide a variety of educational programs in public schools and throughout more unusual venues, for a string quartet, from jazz clubs to cafes.  Looking at the cover of their new Navona release, one suspects they are about 75% subdued artsy-performance, and 25% rock-and-roll.  The cover is a rather amusing way to grab the attention of a casual browser and when one turns over to see what is on the release there is a further surprise.

It is not clear if the Altius Quartet performs concerts in the way the album is sequenced, but some might find it a bit disconcerting.  The group likes to incorporate a variety of musical styles from all genres of music.  Pieces by Dave Brubeck (“Take Five”) blended with some Michael Jackson (“Beat It”), Led Zeppelin (“Stairway to Heaven/Kashmir”), Ben King (“Stand by Me”), and a-ha (“Take on Me”) are included here in arrangements by violinist Zachary Reaves.  They are spread though around two larger classical works forming a sort of intriguing string quartet playlist you might set up on your iPod.  The Brubeck is really stunning and the Michael Jackson tune is well incorporated.  Excellent attacks and precision make this more than just a run through of pop music.  This is the case for each of these popular musical explorations.  They perfectly capture the sound of the quartet and allow each to be shown off in their own ways.  The Zeppelin is a touching reflective moment with an almost Bartokian intensity in its latter half that clears the stage for the second movement of the Haydn.

The two primary pieces on the program are from opposite ends of the musical spectrum.  The first is the Haydn String Quartet in C, Op. 74, no. 1.  The first movement serves as the initial track on the CD.  This is energetic Haydn playing with a greater intensity than one might expect but it works so well that the piece seems to take on a new life of its own.  The other movements are then dispersed through the album.  That is perhaps a tad unfortunate, but easily solved by reprogramming to just hear the quartet on its own.  The performance of the quartet itself is excellent, easily standing beside others, especially as the performance here does not feel like another run through of a standard repertoire work.  The attention to detail and clear rhythmic attacks really help the piece shine in its final movement with zips along.

Also featured is William Bolcolm’s Three Rags (slightly out of order, starting with the second movement and then moving on the first and eventually the third).  “Graceful Ghost” serves as a nice balance to the Brubeck/Jackson that precedes it.  Thus it allows a connection between the jazz-like rhythms and the more ragtime styles.  The outer movements bookend the Haydn minuet, connecting dance forms across centuries.  The ensemble captures some of the wit of the final movement, “Incineratorag” very well.

In Dress Code, Altius really manages to find a way to connect across audience experiences.  The program works very well as whole.  Some might be surprised at how engaging the sequencing is because the popular music choices are arranged in such a way that they can be used to transition into other masterworks.  The recording here is equally fine at capturing the excellent balance.  This is more than just a standard crossover album as you will likely find this album one that can be returned to frequently.   Stick around for the final track encore, “Mustang Sally”!