Jazz

The latest CD releases reviewed

FRANK COLLETT
Music from the Movies Fresh Sound ****

In another delightful taste of the classic trio setup, producer Dick Bank reunites pianist Collett with Tom Warrington (bass) and Joe La Barbera (drums) for a trawl through Hollywood's musical past. Much of the repertoire is familiar; Tinsel- town has generated its share of standards. But they're refreshed by the vigorous, beautifully crafted workouts the trio give them, and there's a real snap about the way they approach the least remembered pieces, such as A Gal in Calico, It's a Most Unusual Day and Collett's elegant Thanks for the Memory.

And he serves up three gorgeously delineated solo pieces in Laura, At Last and Tara's Theme. The exhaustively researched booklet about the origins of each song, buttressed by Collett's comments on the music, is a movie buff's meat and drink. www.freshsoundrecords.com

Download tracks: It Could Happen to You, Thanks for the Memory

ALAN BARNES/ALAN PLATER
Seven Ages of Jazz Woodville **

The title may be Shakespearean, but Alan Plater's words for this song cycle (sung by a brave Liz Fletcher) about the changing face

of British jazz history are not. Maybe they weren't meant to be taken seriously. If so, just as well. Unfortunately, Barnes has taken

a band with some front-rank UK players, including himself and Stan Sulzmann among the reeds, brassmen Bruce Adams and the wonderful Mark Nightingale, and pianist Brian Dee, and hung the music he's written and arranged

for them on the same bedraggled historical concept. The result is, despite some good moments (with players like these, how could there not be?), more striking for its chutzpah than its discernment. Finally, a big hand for the lyrics; they need it. www.musicconnection.org.uk

ZOOT SIMS
Zoot Suite HighNote **

Sims is in prime form on this previously unreleased 1973 live recording, feeding off the support of a blue-ribbon rhythm section: Jimmy Rowles (piano), George Mraz (bass) and Mousey Alexander (drums). So why the low rating? There are sound reasons for this. According to some reports, the album may have been recorded somewhere in the Caribbean. Well, on it, actually. Certainly, the piano sounds like it's hidden behind a bulkhead, Sims appears to be playing into a boat funnel, Alexander's in the engine room, and only Mraz emerges relatively unscathed from the sonic mess. Small print on the sleeve says the recording "requires a bit of patience from the listener". Saintliness would be more accurate. It does Zoot's memory no service. http://uk.hmboutique.com