Basile has a series of agreeable conversations with two other guitarists, Sir Roland Hanna<\/strong>, Colors From a Giant\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Kit<\/em><\/a> (IPO) <\/p>\n Even casual YouTube<\/em> surfers who find videos by the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra are likely to be captivated by the piano introductions, Dubravka Tomsic<\/strong>, Mozart Works for piano<\/em><\/a> (IPO) Roland Hanna was a keen student of classical piano literature and of the The Angel City Big Band featuring Bonnie Bowden<\/strong>, An Angel City Christmas<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Basile-Amplitudes.jpg\" "\\"Basile")
<\/a>both of whom—through the wonders of digital overdubbing—are also Basile. Multiple tracking by a solitary musician goes back to Bill Evans<\/a> (tape, 1963) and well beyond, to Sidney Bechet\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s<\/a> \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sheik of Araby\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Blues of Bechet\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (lacquer discs, 1941). What’s different here is that Basile and an engineer accomplished the feat somewhat more conveniently, with the use of an iPhone app. So much for the gee-whiz aspect of the recording. Forget the process and listen to the music, which is typical of Basile\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s swing, melodicism and harmonic resourcefulness. In approaches as varied as the rhythm guitar and walking bass in Jane Herbert\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Nice to be With You,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d the pointillism of Basile\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s own 12-tone \u00e2\u20ac\u0153First Row,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d the samba inflections of Jobim\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Fotografia\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and the pleasingly abrasive spectrum distortions in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153My Funny Valentine,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Basile manages a variety of moods and textures while maintaining the sensibility of the album. Among other highlights, he reminds us that in the right hands, or sets of hands, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Moon River\u00e2\u20ac\u009d isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t worn out; it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still a great tune to blow on. In a single chorus of Bernstein\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Some Other Time,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he captures the tune\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s air of hopeful resignation. <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Hanna-Colors.jpg\" "\\"Hanna")
<\/a> interludes and endings played by Roland Hanna. Serious followers of that band know Hanna, drummer Lewis and bassist Richard Davis, as one of the great rhythm sections. His advanced technique melded with his harmonic imagination and knowledge of the jazz tradition to make him also one of the music\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s most complete solo performers. Long before he founded IPO records, Bill Sorin made unaccompanied recordings of Hanna. The pianist died in 2003, and this year Sorin compiled 14 of those performances in this collection. The album is a vibrant addition to the label\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s previous three Hanna albums and to his extensive discography<\/a>, which dates from the late 1950s. The pieces include standards by Ellington, Strayhorn, Coltrane, Victor Young and Ray Noble, and four Hanna compositions. His \u00e2\u20ac\u015320th Century Rag\u00e2\u20ac\u009d reflects love for a central pre-jazz tradition, tinted with ironic chord voicings that might have made Shostakovich smile. He treats Coltrane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Naima\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and Strayhorn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Chelsea Bridge\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as rhapsodies. His introduction to Ellington\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153In a Mellotone\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is a riff that works perfectly for the piece but almost makes the listener wish that Hanna had developed it as a composition of its own. He invests \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Cherokee\u00e2\u20ac\u009d with a bluesy introduction, then proceeds at a pace slower than the customary hurricane bebop tempo, allowing himself thorough examination of the song\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s interior qualities. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lovely album. <\/p>\n
\nDubravka Tomsic<\/strong>, Chopin Works for piano<\/em><\/a> (IPO)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Tomsic-Mozart.jpg\" "\\"Tomsic")
<\/a>principal classical pianists of his day. It is unlikely that he was not aware of the great Slovenian pianist Dubravka Tomsic. For all of her prowess, high regard among her peers, fame in Europe and reputation as one of Artur Rubenstein\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s favorite prot\u00c3\u00a9g\u00c3\u00a9s, Tomsic was surprisingly little known in the United States until the 1990s. Much of her recording has been for relatively obscure European labels that are hard to find. Sorin, the IPO Records chief who championed Hanna, has followed her work for years. He![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Tomsic-Chopin.jpg\" "\\"Tomsic")
<\/a> issued an album of her interpretations of Franz Liszt in 2001. He brought her back to New York to record two CDs released in 2011, one of Chopin, one of Mozart. Chopin fascinated many jazz pianists, among them Hanna and Bill Evans, and continues to influence young jazz musicians. If you wonder why, Tomsic\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s readings of the massive Sonata No. 2 in B flat Minor, four scherzos and the famous Berceuse may give you answers. In three sonatas and the Fantasia in D Minor, she discloses the energy, command and variety in Mozart\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s piano writing. Whether or not you customarily follow classical piano, these are highly recommended. <\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/angelcitybigbandandbonni.jpg\" "\\"angelcitybigbandandbonni\\"")
<\/a>include Tom Kubis, John LaBarbera and Ralph Carmichael, the singer is the unfailingly cheerful and gratifyingly in-tune Bowden, and the songs are all proven classics. If for nothing more than Bowden\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s astonishing high-register unison vocalese with the trumpets on \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Let it Snow,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d this would be one of my new seasonal favorites. Over the years, I have grown tired of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Christmas Song,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Nat Cole and Mel Torm\u00c3\u00a9 notwithstanding. Bowden and the Angel City crew of skilled studio craftsmen restored them for me. She does a great job with the verse to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153What Are You Doing New Year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Eve.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"