BÉLA FLECK — Perpetual Motion (2001) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck has certainly broken more boundaries than any other picker in recent memory, from his early days performing bluegrass-inspired folk compositions on Rounder in the late '70s to his quirky jazz freak-outs with the Flecktones throughout the '90s. In late 2001, this peculiar innovator released an album of banjo interpretations of classical works by Bach, Chopin, and Scarlatti. Before classical purists roll their eyes, they must remember that the banjo hasn't always been seen as the instrument of choice of backwoods musicians in the Appalachian mountains, but as recently as the 1940s was used as a primary rhythm instrument in all manner of parlor music. That being said, Perpetual Motion is a bright and unique take on several well-known classical pieces (Moonlight Sonata, Bach's Cello Suite No. 1) as well as a number of interpretations of Bach's two-part and three-part inventions. These light and brief inventions act as buffers between the longer, more dramatic pieces, but end up serving as some of the highlights of the album. With Fleck often accompanied by Evelyn Glennie on marimba and Appalachia Waltz musicians Joshua Bell and Edgar Meyer on violin and bass, these short, delicate pieces weave in and out of the album, proving that the banjo can be seen in a different light altogether. Fleck's picking is uniquely unparalleled in that he can so easily dip his feet into so many different genres with an instrument that is so quickly pigeonholed. The album drifts easily into the background, which is not necessarily a detraction but, knowing the fire that Fleck can unleash from his fingertips, it would have been nice to have a few more impassioned numbers on the album. The closest the ensemble comes to really making some noise is the final track, Paganini's Moto Perpetuo (arranged in a bluegrass style), which is not necessarily more forceful, but is certainly faster and louder. Zac Johnson
Tracklist :
1. Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonata In C Major K.159
2. Bach: Two-Part Invention No. 13
3. Debussy: ''Dortor Gradus Ad Parnassum'' From Children's Corner
4. Chopin: Mazurka In F-Sharp Minor
5. Bach: ''Prelude'' From Partita No. 3 For Solo Violin
6. Chopin: Etude In C-Sharp Minor
7. Chopin: Mazurka In F-Sharp Minor
8. Bach: Three-Part Invention No. 10
9. Tchaikovsky: Melody In E-Flat
10. Brahms: ''Presto In G Minor I After Bach''
11. Bach: ''Prelude'' From Suite For Unaccompanied Celllo No. 1
12. Bach: Three-Part Invention No. 15
13. Paganini: Moto Perpetuo
14. Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonata In D Minor K.213
15. Bach: Two-Part Invention No.6
16. Beethoven: ''Adagio Sostenuto'' From ''Moolight'' Sonata
17. Bach: Two-Part Invention No. 11
18. Beethoven: Seven Variations On ''God Save The King''
19. Bach: Three-Part Invention No. 7
20. Paganini: Moto Perpetuo (Bluegrass Version)
Credits :
Banjo – Béla Fleck
Bass, Piano – Edgar Meyer
Cello – Gary Hoffman
Guitar – John Williams
Mandolin – Chris Thile
Marimba – Evelyn Glennie
Steel Guitar [Steel String Guitar] – Bryan Sutton
Violin – Joshua Bell
Arranged By – Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer

CHRIS THILE & BRAD MEHLDAU — Chris Thile & Brad Mehldau (2017) 2CD | Two Version (Nonesuch – 7559-79409-9) + (Nonesuch – WPCR-176689 Japan) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Other than the album's genre-crossing premise, there's nothing particularly gimmicky or flashy about bluegrass singer/songwriter Chris Thile and jazz pianist Brad Mehldau's 2017 Nonesuch collaboration, Chris Thile & Brad Mehldau. Simply put, Thile and Mehldau deliver a set of deeply engaging, organically realized songs that perfectly balance their respective jazz and bluegrass skills. Given that they seemingly come from polar ends of the musical spectrum, the collaboration may feel like an odd choice at first. However, after hearing this debut, one might be hard-pressed to imagine a more compatible duo to emerge from their generation than these two distinctive mavericks. The similarities have always been there; both musicians started out as purist arbiters of their prospective roots-based genres, but later transitioned into leading proponents of their own progressive, harmonically nuanced musical ideologies. Thile broke the mold when he started incorporating pop, folk, and traditional bluegrass with Nickel Creek, a permutable instinct later underlined with his nods to rock and fusion with the Punch Brothers. Similarly, while Mehldau is often justifiably compared to jazz icons like Keith Jarrett and Bill Evans, his reconceptualization of alt-rock hits by Radiohead and Nirvana, combined with his deft improvisational skill, long marked him as a gentle jazz radical. This inkling that both artists shared a philosophical and aesthetic sensibility is apparently exactly what motivated executive producer and label president Robert Hurwitz to introduce the two to each other after a Punch Brothers show several years prior to this album. Subsequently, Thile and Mehldau began playing together casually, purportedly developing a strong rapport. Based on the songs here, that rapport sounds effortless, as they warmly intertwine both their instruments and voices on covers like a rambling take on Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" and an evocative reworking of Joni Mitchell's "Marcie." One minute, Mehldau is framing Thile's yearning vocals in soft, velvety chords and the next, Thile is comping with furious intensity on his mandolin as Mehldau launches into a cascading solo. The duo's original songs are also quite fascinating, particularly the Eric Clapton-esque "The Old Shade Tree" and the poetic, classically inflected "Noise Machine," inspired by the recent birth of Thile's first child. These are deeply hued, literate songs, as personal as anything either artist has done, yet delivered with an almost startlingly robust virtuosity. Even when they defy expectations, as when Thile sets down his mandolin for a piano-accompanied reading of the standard "I Cover the Waterfront," or when they eschew lyrics for an instrumental version of Elliott Smith's "Independence Day," there's a palpable sense of real listening, of generously shared creativity. Ultimately, it's that synergistic spark that makes Thile and Mehldau's collaboration sound less like a one-off experiment and more like the start of a lasting partnership. Matt Collar  

Tracklist :

Disc 1 

1  The Old Shade Tree 6:27

Brad Mehldau / Chris Thile 

2  Tallahassee Junction 5:57

Brad Mehldau 

3  Scarlet Town 6:06 

David Rawlings / Gillian Welch 

4  I Cover the Waterfront 7:02 

Johnny Green / Edward Heyman 

5  Independence Day 3:12 

Elliott Smith 

6  Noise Machine 4:53 

Chris Thile 

Disc 2 

1  The Watcher 5:30 

Brad Mehldau 

2  Daughter of Eve 9:01 

Chris Thile 

3  Marcie 4:52 

Joni Mitchell 

4  Don't Think Twice, It's All Right  6:04 

Bob Dylan 

5  Tabhair dom do Lámh 4:21 

Credits 

Mandolin, Vocals, Producer – Chris Thile 

Piano, Vocals, Producer – Brad Mehldau 

YO-YO MA / CHRIS THILE / EDGAR MEYER - Bach Trios (2017) FLAC

Arranger – ou plutôt : transcrire – des œuvres de Bach pour mandoline, violoncelle et contrebasse, bah, certes la mandoline et la contrebasse n’étaient pas exactement dans ses cordes, cela le procédé participe malgré tout du principe que le Cantor a lui-même appliqué mille fois avec sa propre musique ou celle d’autres compositeurs de son temps. Dans le cas présent, une belle poignée d’œuvres en tout genre – Sonates en trio originalement à l’orgue, Sinfonias de cantates conçues pour orchestre, Préludes et Fugues du Clavier bien tempéré, quelques contrapunctus de L’Art de la fugue etc. – sont donc réécrits pour ce très inhabituel trio, d’autant plus inhabituel que le mandoliniste Chris Thile et le contrebassiste Edgar Meyer sont plutôt célèbres (très célèbres, d’ailleurs, tous deux) dans le domaine du bluegrass, du jazz, du folk et de toutes les variantes anciennes, modernes et même « progressives ». Bon, le violoncelliste Yo-Yo Ma reste une star dans la sphère classique, ce qui ne l’empêche pas de très souvent pratiquer le crossover vers d’autres genres. Et d’ailleurs, Meyer lui-même a tout autant enregistré Schubert et Bach, comme quoi bien des barrières finissent par céder. On notera aussi que Thile joue ici une mandoline « bluegrass », ou « country type F », et non pas la mandoline classique, sans doute pas assez sonore pour faire le poids avec les amples cordes de Yo-Yo Ma et Meyer. Par contre, si tous trois sont des improvisateurs de grand talent, ils s’abstiennent ici de la moindre déviation vis-à-vis de la lettre exacte, précise et absolue des partitions de Bach. Enfin, les qobuzonautes qui aiment à en savoir un peu plus en lisant les livrets des albums seront ici un peu déçus, car ledit livret comporte en tout et pour tout… quatre photos. Donc, les seuls détails disponibles sont à découvrir dans la présente petite chroniquette.

Tracklist

01. Trio Sonata No. 6 in G Major, BWV 530: I. Vivace

02. Trio Sonata No. 6 in G Major, BWV 530: II. Lento

03. Trio Sonata No. 6 in G Major, BWV 530: III. Allegro

04. The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I: Prelude No. 19 in A Major, BWV 864

05. Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 645

06. The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II: Fugue No. 20 in A Minor, BWV 889

07. Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 639

08. Prelude No. 18 in E Minor, BWV 548

09. Fugue No. 18 in E Minor, BWV 548

10. Keyboard Partita No. 5 in G Major, BWV 829: VI. Passepied

11. Kommst du nun, Jesu, vom Himmel herunter, BWV 650

12. Art Of The Fugue, Bwv 1080: Contrapunctus XIII A 3, "Rectus"

13. Art Of The Fugue, Bwv 1080: Contrapunctus XIII A 3, "Inversus"

14. Erbarm dich mein, O Herre Gott, BWV 721

15. Sonata for Viola da Gamba No. 3 in G Minor, BWV 1029: I. Vivace

16. Sonata for Viola da Gamba No. 3 in G Minor, BWV 1029: II. Adagio

17. Sonata for Viola da Gamba No. 3 in G Minor, BWV 1029: III. Allegro

Year Of Release: 2017

Label: Nonesuch /  flac lossless

Total Time: 01:00:52

Total Size: 246 mb

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