The latest jazz CDs reviewed

TOSHIKO AKIYOSHI-LEW TABACKIN

The Toshiko Akiyoshi-Lew Tabackin Big Band Mosaic Select(3 CDs) ★★★★★

Akiyoshi was the hugely talented composer, orchestrator and soul of one of the finest big bands of the late 1970s, bringing oriental and western cultural influences to an eclectic blend that included Mingus, Ellington and Gil Evans. Somehow, it all emerged as unmistakably her own. Tabackin, her husband, was one of a range of soloists in a band that handled her demanding charts with extraordinary precision and power. This set covers five long- unavailable albums. Particularly gripping are Tales Of A Courtesan, Long Yellow Road, Kogun and Insights (with its extraordinary Minamata suite in memory of the city whose inhabitants were poisoned by mercury pollution from a factory). The fifth album, March Of The Tadpoles, is a fine swinger. www.mosaicrecords.com

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NICOLAS THYS

Virgo Pirouet★★★

Despite the presence of exceptional soloists such as Chris Cheek (tenor), John Cowherd (piano) and Ryan Scott (guitar), this is a composer/ arranger’s album. Bassist Nicolas Thys wrote all the material with these men in mind and was clearly concerned to make the blend of ensemble writing and soloists as unified as possible. It’s lovingly crafted, with an undeniably laid-back charm, and a blend has been achieved – but at the expense of legroom for the soloists. The arranging is unusually detailed for a group this small, while the thematic material, aside from the title track and a buoyant G Brazil, doesn’t linger in the mind. That said, when they get the opportunity, Cowherd, Cheek and, to a lesser degree, Scott perform with lyricism and imagination, while drummer Dan Rieser’s rock influences really help the quintet to groove persuasively. www.pirouetrecords. com

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FRANCK TORTILLER

Sentimental 3/4 CamJazz★★★★

This is actually France's famed Orchestre National de Jazz, just after Tortiller's term as leader and vibist had ended, with a typically innovative yet understanding take on the country's long musette tradition, recorded last year. Tortiller, who wrote most of the waltz themes, drew an astonishing range of colour, counterpoint and interplay, and a huge, full sound, from the 11-piece group; his pieces stretch the tradition with imagination and clarity, particularly the long, kaleidoscopic Valse 1, the inventive, dramatic and decidedly non-traditional Valse 6 and the beautifully voiced Valse 4. The non-Tortiller pieces, Rue aux Fromages, Douce Joieand Impasse des Vertushew more closely to the tradition, albeit with a few tweaks here and there. But they're all played with breathtaking precision and elan by an ensemble bursting with formidable solo talent. www.camjazz.com

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