JAZZ

Latest CD releases reviewed

MIRABASSI/BOLTRO/FERRIS
Air Sketch
****

The Mirabassi is pianist/composer Giovanni, not clarinetist Gabriele, but he's as gorgeously lyrical and passionate a player, with the technical command to express it. On this unusual and attractive trio album, for which he wrote most of the splendid music, Giovanni is joined by the marvellous Italian trumpeter Flavio Boltro and a sparkling trombonist, Glenn Ferris. In this musical pas de trois of grace and beauty, there are no grand gestures, just a three-way collaboration in which everyone is concerned to make the whole greater than the sum of its parts. Delightful. www.sketchmusic.com

Guitarist Mackenzie is part of the currently revitalised Scottish jazz scene. For this marriage of jazz, folk and classical elements he has notable representatives of two: himself, saxophonists Phil Bancroft (tenor) and Martin Kershaw (alto), supported by Chick Lyall (piano), Tom Lyne (bass) and Tom Bancroft (drums) from jazz, with Simon Thoumire (concertina) and fiddlers Aidan O'Rourke and Chris Stout from folk. The classical touches come from composer Mackenzie's writing. Up to a point it works; the ensembles are crisp and committed, with the saxophonists and Lyall and Mackenzie soloing well. But the writing is occasionally fussy, and the too-frequent funk rhythms limit the possibilities of what is potentially an exceptional group. www.cabermusic.com

TEDDY EDWARDS
Smooth Sailing  HighNote
***

Edwards died last year around the time this album was released, so it can be taken as a worthy farewell from one of the great bop West Coast tenors. Age and illness had - slightly - frayed the edges of his technical mobility, but his inventiveness, big sound and sheer authority remain undiminished. For this engaging delve into jazz originals by himself and fellow tenors Hank Mobley, Arnett Cobb and Illinois Jacquet, with standards from such as Duke Ellington, Victor Herbert and Jimmy Van Heusen, Edwards is joined by longtime associates, pianist Richard Wyands, in fine form, and the reliable Ray Drummond (bass) and Chip White (drums). The results ooze maturity. www.jazzdepot.com