Search - Stephane Grappelli, Svend Asmussen :: Live at Carnegie Hall / June Night

Jazz Violin Greats

Rod Saunders | Tulsa, Ok | 03/30/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this CD mainly to hear Svend Asmussen since I've read so much about him but never heard him play. He's good, but I prefer Grappelli's style. It was interesting though, hearing the two on the same CD for the sake of contrast. Asmussen had more classical training than Grappelli, as did Joe Venuti. That may help in some respects like tone, but somehow Stephane seemed to have more freedom of expression and creativity. Maybe the extensive classical training tends to inhibit that. Who knows?The Grappelli tunes were performed in 1978 when he was 70, and he was as brilliant as ever. He is backed by Diz Dizley, the Django enthusiast responsible for his reborn career, on rhythm guitar throughout. The opening tune - I CAN'T GIVE YOU ANYTHING BUT LOVE - really swings with this arrangement. AS TIME GOES BY is as gracefully interpreted as I've ever heard. CRAZY RHYTHM is a true jazz piece, with the double bassist Brian Torff playing four beats per measure. John Ethridge provides some great acoustic guitar accompaniment on Jean-Luc Ponty's GOLDEN GREEN, which features Grappelli's magical touch with embellishments and harmonics. CHATANOOGA CHOO-CHOO is a great piece for Grappelli, although I don't recall him recording it very often. Check out the train whistle at the end. Why should bluegrass fiddlers be the only ones who get to do train noises? BLUES IN G FOR B.T. was written by Grappelli for bassist Brian Torff. It starts off as a blues number, but soon transitions into a swing tune in true Grappelli fashion. The last piece - NUAGES - was performed in memory of Stephane's old friend and music partner who composed it, Django Reinhardt, on the 25th anniversary of his death. Hard to imagine a more fitting or tastefully played tribute. Svend's performances begin with JUNE NIGHT, a sort of soft-shoe number shared with the pianist Derek Smith. Next is SWEET GEORGIA BROWN, a tune Grappelli played at nearly every gig. Notice how different it sounds, though, with Svend's approach accompanied by guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli and Smith with a clever solo on piano that includes a phrase from Rhapsody in Blue. Svend comes across more as a member of a band than a featured artist. LAZY RIVER also displays liberal doses of piano and guitar, along with some jazzy pizzicato licks and a short drum solo by Ollie Jackson. NADJA and BLUE PRELUDE are eerie tunes in minor keys, somewhat of a departure in this set. JUST A GIGOLO is a low key rendition of this old classic. Great guitar solo here. CARELESS LOVE goes from 0 to jazz in less than 50 seconds. A PRETTY GIRL IS LIKE A MELODY, the Irving Berlin classic, is the weakest number in my opinion, although the piano solo seems to salvage it. WHEN DAY IS DONE starts off with some excellent solo work, indicitave of Svend's classical training, altough it doesn't take long for him to abandon the classical sound in favor of jazz and blues. HUSH-A-BYE, a lullaby with a gypsy flavor, has a real nightclub sound to it with brushes on the drums. The contributions these two jazz violin greats have made to the music world will be around for a long time, and I suspect this album will serve well as a representation of their art. Highly recommended."