Claude Bolling: Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio

by Claude Bolling, Jean-Pierre Rampal

Overview

Jean-Pierre Rampal may never get down and dirty on this album, considered "his first jazz recording," but the music is nonetheless infectious, breezy, playful, and crystal clear. The legendary flutist is so technically accomplished that anything too "swinging" from him seems a bit stiff, but this is where drummer Marcel Sabiani, bassist Mel Young, and legendary jazz pianist (and friend of Duke Ellington) Claude Bolling take over, all making these compositions seem jazzier than they are on paper. As an example, both "Baroque and Blue" and "Sentimentale" flirt with the morning air, with themes that somewhat separate Rampal's fluttering passages from all the hipster riffs. Track for track, note for note, there is nothing substandard about these "clazzical" hybrids. "Fugace" is a great countermelody express elevator, delightful in its energy and polish. "Javanaise" takes it slow enough for Charlie Brown to waltz about on the ice-skating rink. "Versatile" is a bouncy little trapeze act on the bass flute, and "Veloce" is a fantastic race to the wedding altar, a fantastic balance of tension and release, a nail-biter, a Buster Keaton melodrama, a cream pie in the face, and a precise exclamation mark to close the album. Here and there, Bolling and company manage to get Rampal to loosen his tie. Slightly. It's not quite jazz, but it's still spellbinding music. ~ Glenn Swan

Product Details

Release Date:	06/10/2003
Label:	Fr?Meaux & Associ?S
UPC:	3448960244329
Rank:	52554

Tracks

1. Suite for flute & jazz piano trio No.1~Baroque and blue
2. Suite for flute & jazz piano trio No.1~Sentimentale
3. Suite for flute & jazz piano trio No.1~Javanaise
4. Suite for flute & jazz piano trio No.1~Fugace
5. Suite for flute & jazz piano trio No.1~Irlandaise
6. Suite for flute & jazz piano trio No.1~Versatile (with Bass Flute)
7. Suite for flute & jazz piano trio No.1~V¿¿loce

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Jean-Pierre Rampal   Primary Artist,Flute,Flute (Bass)
Claude Bolling   Primary Artist,Piano
Marcel Sabiani   Drums
Max Hediguer   String Bass,Double Bass

Technical Credits

Emmanuel Chamboredon   Executive Producer
Claude Bolling   Editing,Composer,Producer
John Hudson   Packaging
Claude Ermelin   Engineer
Judy Kaganowich   Artwork
Toby Pieniek   Executive Producer
Bernard Fremeaux   Control Engineer
Stephane Lerouge   Liner Notes,Liner Note Translation
Roger Huyssen   Cover Art,Cover Illustration