Despite All The Computations

The fact that this post is about The Very Best of the Velvet Underground makes it obvious that on this occasion I have taken the route of getting a compilation disk instead of one definitive album. It is a representative selection of tracks with no obvious omissions, my only quibble would be with track sequencing which is a bit all over the place both chronologically and stylistically. The Velvet Underground are one of the most written about bands, appealing as they do to the sensibilities of rock critics. I don't propose to go into the history, influence and mystique of the band since I wouldn't have anything new to add. But some things did strike me about the music revisiting it in this fashion. One thing was how little of the music was in any way a sonic assault on the senses despite the hard core reputation the band had. Secondly, I was struck by the fact that every track was written by Lou Reed. Not being a lifelong devotee of the band, I had expected that one or two of the iconic numbers may have come from John Cale. Instead, I presume the Cale influences came in the musical additions of his violin contributions and the almost English ( Welsh ? ) folk like melodies of All Tomorrow's Parties and Venus In Furs. Looked upon as being quintessentially New York, I did nevertheless also pick up one or two psychedelic west coast inflections that again possibly came from Cale. What could never be confused with the west coast however are tracks like Heroin, which must be one of the most genuinely scary rock songs ever written with the refusal to be judgemental and instead to illustrate in both words and music the attraction of that rush.

Those Other French Impressionists

This month's free cover disk offering from BBC Music magazine is a fine recital by pianist Artur Pizarro of, as the title has it, Debussy and Ravel piano masterpieces. It is certainly full of wonderful music, whether every piece on it is really a masterpiece is perhaps open to question with some of the Debussy being lesser known and relatively recently rediscovered works. They are none the less interesting for that however. The Ravel works are more well known and established within the repertoire. There is the Sonatine, Pavane pour une infante defunte and the beautiful Forlane movement from Le Tombeau de Couperin. Pizarro is very much at home in this repertoire and the performances are of a very high quality. Many of the Debussy pieces are now seen as a link between his early more romantically inclined pieces and the more revolutionary impressionist style with which he is most commonly associated. As a general rule, these BBC Music freebies tend to be more treasurable when they feature chamber works or solo instrumental recitals than when they recycle performances by the BBC orchestras, though several of those fill in gaps in one's collection.

Uber Cool

In the history of jazz, there are the innovators and the followers. Often the followers are supreme craftsman and better players than the innovators in a purely technical sense. One such I feel is trumpeter Chet Baker. His music is in danger of being overlooked and relegated to being of secondary importance compared to his melodramatic and self destructive lifestyle and his "uber cool" image. Even when his music is being considered, it is often the smokey vocals he put on disk that garner the attention. I have gone for a purely instrumental set however, a compilation of sides cut twenty years apart in 1962 and 1982 and here given the title White Blues. The earlier recording session has him accompanied by a basic bass, drums and piano rhythm section while the later numbers add guitar and the journeyman sax and flute of Bobby Jasper. It is Baker's soulful, melodic and passionate playing that ignite the sessions though. My remark about him not being an innovator is illustrated by the reworkings of Monk's tunes Round Midnight and Well You Needn't with the themes simply stated, all the edginess taken out and a standard run through of the changes ensuing. However, the more mainstream material is a perfect showcase for the qualities of Baker's playing mentioned above, while the standards Over The Rainbow and These Foolish Things have not fared any better in other hands.

A Fine Way To Bow out

Right up to the very end of his long and distinguished career, Sir Charles Mackerras was making music of the very highest quality. One of his last recordings was this much lauded double cd set of Mozart symphonies with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. The symphonies featured are numbers 38 to 41 which include the named symphonies Prague ( 38 ) and Jupiter ( 41 ) It is not necessary to place these works in any historical context regarding the development of the symphony, they are just works that stand up completely on their own as supreme pieces of music. The approach of Mackerras and the SCO is not hard core period instrument but it is tinged with historically informed articulation. The music definitely responds to the clarity of a chamber orchestra and the state of the art Linn recording quality brings out all the different lines within the music with the stellar contributions of the woodwind section being most notable. In the booklet notes, Mackerras refers to the Master ( Mozart ) saying goodbye to the symphonic form with the Jupiter. In fact, Sir Charles made one further foray himself with a second recording of earlier Mozart symphonies but for me, this set is a very appropriate farewell from him as a tailpiece to an estimable recorded legacy.

Mathematical Rather Than Musical

An interesting disk of contemporary English classical music ( well, relatively contemporary since the pieces on the disk were written between 1990 and 2000 ) It is a disk of pieces by Julian Anderson titled Alhambra Fantasy and is performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the London Sinfonietta both conducted by the Godfather of the English contemporary scene Oliver Knussen. In his booklet notes, Anderson talks of wanting to relate to the voice and to use "le grande ligne" approach espoused by Nadia Boulanger and to rehabilitate melody and mode. He also speaks of studying the traditional musics of Eastern Europe and Indonesia. I found that it takes repeated listening for such concerns and themes to emerge. There is much use made of percussion, almost a given in the contemporary scene and perhaps showing gamelan influences as well as current pop styles such as house music. The titles given to the pieces suggest programmatic music but buried deep. Khorovod has eastern European folk musics underpinning rhythms but not coming to the fore overtly in terms of melody. The title track shows more affinity with the mathematical structure and architecture of the Alhambra than with any Spanish or moorish musical feel. Anderson continues to benefit from being composer in residence on the South Bank but I notice that some of these works are being programmed in the current season. While it is good to see contemporary pieces having a life beyond their premiere, I wonder what direction his new work has taken.