Latest releases reviewed

GILAD ATZMON
musiK: Re-Arranging The 20th Century enja
****

Nobody mixes politics and music, ethnic and cultural diversity, as compellingly as multi-instrumentalist Atzmon - or makes the mixture work on so many levels. Here he uses mostly soprano, but doubles on six other instruments in a basic sextet, sometimes augmented, that includes longtime collaborators Frank Harrison (piano), Asif Sirkis (drums) and Romano Viazzani (accordion). The music is gripping, stark, full of irony; Liberating the American People and the title track are multi-layered musically, culturally and politically, for example. It's a celebration of difference, engrossing, funny, wry and beautiful, which also recognises how often we reject it. Atzmon is an outstanding artist with a persona and world view all his own; here, as usual, they're brilliantly integrated. www.enjarecords.com

Ray Comiskey

MCCOY TYNER
Illuminations Telarc
***

After his time in Coltrane's great quartet, Tyner gradually lost the imaginative intensity of focus that made him such an influence on other pianists. On this new recording, boosted by the presence of bassist Christian McBride and drummer Lewis Nash in a post-bop context, he allows his more decorative mode a reasonably effective airing. Overshadowing everything, though, is trumpeter Terence Blanchard in magisterial form, lyrical, considered and powerful, who ups the ante each time he plays. Beside Blanchard's dominating trumpet, alto and soprano saxophonist Gary Bartz seems somewhat subdued, despite which his playing remains an asset on what is an enjoyable canter over familiar pastures. Agreeable, but no surprises. www.telarc.com

Ray Comiskey

ELIANE ELIAS/BOB BROOKMEYER/ DANISH RADIO JAZZ ORCHESTRA
Impulsive Stunt
****

Recorded eight years ago and now getting a fresh airing, this is a superb example of Brookmeyer's often sublime skills as an orchestrator, Elias's as a pianist and composer, and the DRJO's as one of the finest big bands in the world. Her slower pieces (So in Love, Moments, One Side of You) approach tone poems in Brookmeyer's gorgeous voicings, so vivid, varied and beautiful that they suggest much longer forms than the originals. On the faster pieces (Just Kiddin', Impulsive!, the somewhat episodic The Time Is Now) he musters the full power of this great ensemble with typical authority. Elias's delight at the settings is evident in her own playing, while Brookmeyer's valve trombone also gets an airing, along with several of the band's soloists. www.sundance.dk

Ray Comiskey