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22
Ampersand
December, 1979
I
Classics to Keep
by Ed Cray
about reviewing— aside from the princely wage* and ego namfac
tion — i* ih.it one may keep the record*. Which is how I have come to
make the following recommendations. These were the records from
among the new releases played for the last few months for personal
pleasure.
Bac It: Complete Flute Sonatas, etc. (Seraphim) - Flutist Voorhorst and
harpsichordist Uitienbnsch endow these with an earthy, no-nonsense
quality.
Bach: (.antatas 140. l4K(.S>oipAimi — Ameling, Baker. Alnnever. Sotin. An
embarrassment of riches.
Bac It: (.haeonne. etc. (.Sheffield) — Guitarist Michael Newmans dehut on
records marks him as a voting man of great capacity. The direct-to-disc
sound is stunning.
Beat It it Foote: Violin Sonatas (.Sew World) — Mrs. Beach's unjusth sligh
ted sonata gets a silken performance from violinist Joseph Silverstein
and pianist Cilher Kalish
Beethoven & Mendelssohn: String Quintets (RCA) - Pine has Zukrrman
joins the Guarneti Quartet, demonstrating how much fun friends can
have making music together.
Beethoven: Quintet for Piano & Winds. Serenade('turnabout) - Relaxed
music making, notable for its easy charm rather than its virtuosity.
Brahms: V lolin iUmccrUi(Columbia) — Isaac Stern and Zubin Mehta have
placed this together for years. Not often do soloist and orchestra blend
so felicitously.
Bruckner: Symphonies No. 7 & 9 (Vanguard) — Kurt Masur's l.eip/igers
raise these works, and Bruckner, to religious passion. Agie.u aigument
for the transcendental.
Brut kite!: Symphony No. 9 (Angel) — F.ugen Jot hum provides a well-
recorded. intellectual reading that lets the listener chaw his own conclu
sions altoui ihe enigmatic composer.
(.opl.md: S\mphoiiv No. (Columbia) — Copland conducts one of the few
contemporarv works to have gained a loot hold in the conc ert hall; a
gtand, accessible composition.
Dow land X.- Byrd: Lute Piece* - PaulO'Dette tosses off these 15
tuneful works with great elan, nevei making too much of ton little
11 .in c 111 Symphonies 44-49 (Vanguard) — Antonio Jamgro conduct* brisk
performances on three separate records of the best of Haydn's middle
symphonies.
Mennin: Symphony No. 7. Piano Concerto (CRI) —The symphony is
one of the more engaging, if dark, works in contemporaty music. )ohn
Ogdens piano on the (lip side of this former RCA disc overwhelms.
Moxart: Symphonies No. 25 .mil 28 (Odyssey) — Remastered mono rec-
oidings by the Mo/art conduc tor of this century. II anvthmg m music is
definitive, this is.
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition and Haydn: Sonata No. 52
(RCA) — Well remastered mono recordings of Vladimir Horowitz at
titan power Be gialciul such men grace our tunes.
Hhfts of Delight i Nonesuch) — American shape note hymns sung by the Wind
o! Mouth Chorus; raw. intense, moving. The sort of thing one expects
I tom enterprising Nonesuch.
S.iint-Sacns and l.alo: Pi.mo Ifios (Turnabout) — French confections
whipped up l» the Caecilian I no proving even serious composers nave
fun now and then.
Sc hum.mn: Sonata in (• mmol, Lantasiestueihe (Orion) — Pianist Susan
Starr is a gifted lads of no little sensitivity, a combination ol assets much
loo rare.
Sulmtnuk: Liquid Strata, etc. (’ou nhall) — I hough not a Sulioinick parti
san. I m still awed bv pianist Ralph (.i ter son’s i apac itie* I he l.e*emann
and Kialt pieces seem more rewarding on a second hearing.
I liomson: four Sangifram William Make, etc (CHI) — Virgil Thomson was
the quintessential American intellectual in Paris, in New Ybrk (a fear-
some critic), in hometown Kansas City. This rechanneled Columbia re
lease represent* all three places.
WellerII: Complete Works. Vol. I (Columbia) — Recorded undei the direc
tion ol Pier re Boulez, all-star casts deliver lucid, piecise performances.
A Grand Piix du Disque/Giamim winner or there ain't no justice.
Jarrett. A bass and piano line are
central to "House of Wax." on whic h
Walcott's sitar is the primary voice, ac
cented by the breathy llute of
McCandless. The title track really
burns, and Towner has a dandy 12-
string solo.
For Introducing, Moore stuck to
small groups with no overdubs, or
solo bass and piano devices. His lias*
gets a woody, thumping sound that
fills rooms and bounces easily, while
his piano is ruminative and sparse.
The quartet pieces show a different
coat again, with Zbigniew Siefert. the
late Polish v iolinist, and Jan Hammer
playing pin-pointed, exuberant
drums on two rock works. There are
also quiet trio opuses with cellist
David Darling.
All the Mornings utilizes two ensem
bles, a trio with Art 1 .ancle, piano, and
Dave Samuels, vibes and marimba;
and an elegant woodwind octet. Both
units achieve an open, outdoorsy
quality that is most attrac tive. The trio
is a better study in interaction among
improvisers while the oc tet displays
McCandless's depth as a composer
and arranger.
Zan Stewart
. \ote: &Ais record
contains only 26 - f/2
minutes o/ music.
si v and the Family Stone
B.ick on the Right Track
(Warner Urns.)
Sly Stone's return to vinyl after a
lengthy hiatus is a mixed lug. neither
the work of a cocaine casualty — as
many feared — nor a smashingly
triumphant comeback.
Slv's brand of funk doesn't sound
dated in the least. Ifis vocals are on
the mark, as is the horn section and
(racking vocals that always made the
Familv Stone so distinc tive.
However, the music and produc
tion is altogether too slick and
smooth, lac king any sort of dynamic
variation; none of the songs reallv
stick in the memory. A Hawed, incon
clusive effort, the album nonetheless
indicates that Slv c an t In* counted out
yet. Consumer Note: This record con
tains only 2b l /fe minutes of music.
Don Snowden
. The material on
' ‘{/testless .\lylts ”
cries to le millet)
o/ its JbatAos.
Karla Bonofe
Restless Nights (Columbia)
Famous for her own and for Ron-
stadt s versions of "I Can’t Hold On"
and other originals. BonoH exhibits
het usual Hair on Restless Nights, with
special emphasis on evocative, heart
rending melodies. Yet. while not
bloodless. BonoH s voice lacks emo
tional precision. Good songs all. the
material on Restless Sights cues to In*
milked of its pathos. Bonoff just
doesn't have the chords.
Davin Seay
Sonny Ron ins
Don’t Ask (Milestone)
Rollins has endured a lot of negative
comment, much ol it unfair!*, for his
joornev into po|>-jazz, and though his
detractors mu* not think his material
worthy ol the preeminent saxophon
ist of our time, Sonny nevertheless
stays true to himself; he always •
swings, he plays with a never-ending
energy and enthusiasm that makes
even the weakest song happen, and
his almost-human tenor sound gets ,
rougher, warmer, more personal as
the years are logged. Don't Ash has lots
of music: the funky "Harlem Boys";
"Disco Monk," j hot and cold item with «
a storming tarry Coryell guitar solo;
the melodious "My Ideal"; and the
stiaight-ahead title track. One can't
help but smile at these genuinely af-«
fee donate sounds.
Zan Stewart
Ft NKADEIK
Unde Jam Wants Yim(Warnrr
Bros.)
Mutiny
Mutiny on the Mamaship
(Columbia)
In its original, undiluted form. Fun-
kadelic was the most original and •
amusing black music concept of the
Seventies. George Clinton. P-Funk
mastermind and chief bool* polisher,
took hard James Brown/Sly Stone *
soul and goo sen it up with a heavier
bottom and lyrical and musical con
ceits that incorporated sc ience fiction.
Frank Zappa, the purest streetcorner •
jive and the most complicated cos-
mogony this side ol William Blake
The result was daffy, exttavagant
dance music — loone* and mindless«
and lots of fun.
Unfortunately, to borrow a phrase*
from the P-Funk lexicon, the butt
pleasures have waned considerably, as »
amplv demonstrated h* Funkadclics
new release. Uncle Jam Wants You
Nothing on the new album comes
close to aheieving the rhythmic de-v
lights of the unshakable “One Nation
Under a Groove.” Cncle Jam's mag
num opus, "(not just) Knee Deep," is
Sonny Hollins