ly with McLaughlin's Mahavishnu ' Orchestra) all make guest appearances. The seventeen tracks follow a programmatic precis of L. Ron Hubbard's sci-fi book of the same title. But you can safely ignore the book and enjoy the music on its own merits, which, I suspect, most of us will do anyway. A number of atmospheric tracks, titled Pon View 1, 2, etc., are interspersed, and provide a break from the furious high-energy rifting. Of imerest to keyboard players: Corea plays a stock CF/Disklavier grand this time aroUlld, and still uses a Fender Rhodes! (What happened to Mark Allen and his custom-made concert Grands?) It certainly seems strange to hear a Rhodes piaJ10 in this era. Noteworthy. John S. Gray Concert Note: With Toronto as the only stop on their North American tour Chick Corea and the Elektric Band will perform at Massey Hall on November 3. . POT POURRI Cloud Seven Tony Bennett featuring Chuck Wayne Columbia CK 85806 When Tony Bennett started his recording career discs rotated at 78 revolutions per minute, and the few Long Playing records were just as likely to be JO" as 12" in diameter. But even then, it seems that The Producer (or Artists & Repertoire Man) had the power. Bennett was viewed as a 'singles artist' pumping out novelty jukebox hits such as Cold, Cold Hean and Rags To Riches. Curiously, his commercial success kept him from the Valhalla of the more artistic world of the LP. Fifty years ago Bennett had to fight to make a release conceived from the beginning as something other than a collection of singles. He wanted, and eventually got, "Cloud 7", ten superior songs presented in a warm setting with a small group of jazz musicians under guitarist Chuck Wayne's leadership. (Those looking for value be warned: there's only 33 minutes on this disc). As you might expect, it's 'jazzy' rather than full-on jazz: the 3-minute barrier is rarely broken, and little (but at least some) space is given to soloists. That's a shame, as the players include tenorman Al Cohn, a pleasant-enough trumpeter, Charles Panely, and a yoUJlg pianist named Gene DiNovi, long a Toronto staple. Tbe tunes are good ones, including 1 Fall In Love Too Easily, Old Devil Moon, Love Letters and Darn That Dream. Bennett's voice is pitched higher than we're used to these days, a tenor trying to be a baritone, and seems to lack tl1e coolness of a real jazz vocalist, offering an overemotional reading always going for the big ending. That said, as superior pop music it holds up a lot better than most music of the Eisenhower era. Ted O'Reilly Concert Note: Tony Bennett will perforn1 at Roy Thomson HaU on October 14 and 15. Sun, Sea and Sand - Favourites Antonio Carlos Jobim Wrasse Records Columbia CK 9 1922 Antonio Carlos Jobirn and sometime collaborator Vinicius de Moraes were the Lennon/McCartney of Brazilian music. Jobim, along with saxophonist, Stan Getz, singer/guitarist, Joao Gilberto and singer, Astrud Gilberto are responsible for introducing bossa nova to North America. StiU, you might ask yourself, does the world need another recording of Jobirn' s music? The answer is yes and no. No, because the Getz/Gilberto version of Girl from Jpanema doesn't need to be reissued again. The same holds true for a number of the tracks on this CD, no matter bow beautiful they are. The yes is because there are a lot of lesser-known tUJles and performances on "Sun Sand and Sea" that make the disc worth owning for all but the most die-hard Brazilian music collectors, who probably already own mese recordings. The singer Elis Regina's version of Corcovado; Jobim's performance of several songs (Despite the fact mat, technically he doesn't have much of a voice, it's always good to hear a songwriter perform his own music. Think Leonard Cohen.); Herbie Hancock and company on No More Blues, recorded at the Sao Paulo jazz festival; and Passarim for its unusual arrangement and backing chorus, are a few. At 23 tracks, "Sun Sand and Sea" is a comprehensive anthology, and may know better as a hot banjo player if you frequent the Silver Dollar), Jobn McNaughton, bass, Chris Quinn, banjo, and John Showman, fiddle. I don't know, but when I first heard me first track, Feast Here Tonight, I felt sure t11e recording must have been sped up a tad. If not, these young men possess some mighty agile fingers! for omeone who has no Jobim in k.d. tang Dianne Wells of the 49';' parallel Hymns of the 49'h Parallel their collection yet, it would be ater- Nonesuch/Warner 2 79847 rific introduction to a great and in- Take one of the best and most beaufluential songwriter. Live at the Dominion Foggy Hogtown Boys Cathy Riches Independent FOGHOGOl Get your dancin' shoes on and head on down to Toronto's historic Dominion Hotel on a Saturday afternoon for some fast-pickin' and hot licks from these well-loved local boys. Or, if you can't get away from home so easily, buy this CD and sashay a few circles around your living room. Either way, me effort will surely improve your mood. You can even get the 'live' experience witl1 a video file included on the CD of me Foggy Hogtown Boys' performing a famous Bill Monroe tUlle, Blue Moon of Kentucky. Seriously, these folks are a load of fun if you enjoy Bluegrass music and don't mind Canadian boys performing it. While they may not have the best of singing voices for the sweet and slow selections (a bit too 'hound-dog' for my taste), tl1ey do manage some lovely harmonies on the faster tUJles. The Foggy Hogtown Boys are Andrew Collins, mandolin, Chris Coote, guitar (who you tiful voices in pop music and combine it with songs written by the finest songwriters Canada has to offer, then add skilled, creative musicians and visionary production and you have "Hymns of the 49t11 Parallel". Besides tang's singing, which is her usual awesome blend of strength, control and passion, standouts on the disc are the guitar and bass work (courtesy of Ben Mink and Dave Piltch respectively) on Neil YoUllg's Helpless, me rootsy accordion and fiddle (Teddy Borowiecki and Mink) on Bruce Cockburn's One Day I Walk, and everything on Joni Mitchell's Jericho. Other great tunes are Hallelujah and Bird on a Wire, by Leonard Cohen, Fallen by Ron Sexsmith and a killer version of Jane Siberry's Love is Everything. Co-produced by Ben Mink and lang, the arrangements bave deliberately been left spare and simple in order to honour the songs and the songwriters, and focus tl1e listener's attention on the lyrics which are, without exception, brilliant. So the tracks mostly involve just guitar, keyboard, bass, and some unobtrusive strings, but there's enough inventiveness at work bere to keep it interesting. Alberta-born tang bas said that "Hymns of tl1e 49th Parallel" is ber "Canadian soundtrack" with songs that bave "nurtured her musical DNA." Let us all say a big "amen" to that. Cathy Riches 64 WWW. THEWHOLENOTE.COM OCTOBER 1 - NOVEMBER 7 2004
ewfrom Deutsche Grannno phon Thomas Quasthoff ·Johann Sebastian Bach: Cantatas Three cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach, beautifully sung by bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff, his voice blending perfectly with the Berliner Barock Solisten. Quasthoff grew up with these pieces and here he presents the music with the religious drama and profound meaning that the fust listeners must have experienced. Musik. . . Sprache der Welt Fune F1icn1 I E•&c• Jocli11& I IC11n Sudull•g I K1rl Bilhm laor Marlrnitcb I Prin Lela•••• I 'Willu:la fun•laglcr F H TfO ORCllE\TRi\I llf.LORPL C.S I In reviving the term Musil ... Sprache der Welt, Deutsche Grammophon has developed a series that re-creates the flavour and the spirit of the l 950's. This new I 0-CD set of chronologicallyordered orchestral works - from Haydn to Bruckner - features familiar iconic recordings (such as Furtwangler's Schumann Fourth) that appear alongside recordings completely new to CD (e.g. Lehmann's Schubert and Sanderling's Beethoven). In fact, over half of these recordings appear internationally on CD for the first time. In many cases the recordings on the original LP are complemented by bonus material from the same conductor. The reproduction of original artwork and illustrative material evoke the look and feel of that period, and serve as a testimony to the cultural and aesthetic values of another era. All CD's are available in the I 0 CD box set or individually. available wherever fine music is sold www.deutschegrammophon.com
