JAZZ

The latest releases reviewed.

JOHN DONALDSON/MARK EDWARDSLive at Appleby Jazz Festival Trio *****

It's straining credibility to claim, as this album's sleeve note does, that these two brilliant pianists had never duetted before - some routines must have been worked out beforehand. But the intuitive mutual understanding they show here in their improvised excursions is remarkable, and the constant risk-taking is matched by an equal measure of success. A decidedly unhackneyed programme, full of variety, helps; they combine on pieces by Chick Corea (Sea Journey), Bobby Timmons (Dis Here), Egberto Gismonti (Lôro), Monk (Light Blue) and Tyner (Man from Tanganiyka). And their solo features reveal a shared influence: Edwards chose Bill Evans's We Will Meet Again and Donaldson Evans's I Will Say Goodbye. It's one of those happy live occasions that turned out to be memorable. www.triorecords.co.uk

Ray Comiskey

SATOKO FUJII Live in Japan 2004 NatSat ****

Composer and pianist Fujii's music isn't totally free, but it's far from tethered. She uses thematic poles round which spin ever-widening spools of improvisation, to the point of almost complete freedom but always homing back to compositional reference points. Fujii is surrounded by players superbly equipped to do it. Mark Dresser (bass) and Jim Black (drums) are in her working trio, here joined by her husband, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura. The results are outstanding examples of these procedures, lyrical, dramatic, highly charged trio and quartet dialogues as notable for their sustained focus - the 36-minute Illusion Suite is a prime example - as they are for their variety of mood and sensitive management of changes of emotional climate and textures. www.2s.biglobe.ne.jp

Ray Comiskey

ART BLAKEY Mosaic Blue Note *****

One of the finest of all Blakey's Messengers was the sextet including the Freddie Hubbard-Curtis Fuller-Wayne Shorter front line, supported by Cedar Walton (piano), Jymie Merritt (bass) and the boss on drums. The soul quotient was retained, but the band members introduced a new sophistication with their originals and the way they wrote for the trumpet-trombone-tenor lineup. And they had contrasting soloists: Hubbard, fluent, fiery but considered; Shorter, under the spell of Coltrane, wild and inclined to push the outer limits; and Fuller, quick but unhurried, sober almost, no matter how fast the tempo. They overshadowed a young Walton, but were always lashed along by the urgency of Blakey's drums. Engineer Rudy Van Gelder's remastering, as usual, has improved the already good sound.

Ray Comiskey