Nigel Kennedy Jazz

Nigel Kennedy and Kroke - East Meets East (2003) {EMI Records}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 413 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 155 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 11 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2003 EMI Records | 7243 5 57512 2 5
Jazz / World Music / International Jazz / Klezmer / Middle Eastern Traditions

If the notion persists that Nigel Kennedy is the enfant terrible of classical music – too rebellious or facile to be taken seriously – then perhaps it is time to reconsider his categorization. Kennedy's varied interests certainly take him beyond the boundaries of the typical classical performer, and his performance style may be too flamboyant to suit some listeners' tastes. But East Meets East is far from shocking, if understood as an exploration of Eastern European music, presented in a fusion of popular styles without pandering to the classical audience with crossover concessions. Fans of world music and open-minded listeners of any stripe may find something to appreciate here. Appearing with the Polish folk band Kroke and surrounded by several guest artists of international reputation, Kennedy shows that his involvement with this ethnic music is honest, if not always inspired.

Nigel Kennedy Quintet,with guest star Jeff Beck
MP3 @192 kbps | Covers | 45.3 MB
BBC Proms 2008 [no label, 1CD]
Live at the Royal Albert Hall, July 19, 2008.

Nigel Kennedy might be known for Vivaldi’s Four Seasons but the violinist has his rock side and is no stranger to either Jimi Hendrix or The Doors. Earlier in the evening, Kennedy had performed Elgar’s Violin Concerto but for the later part of the show, for a moment there, one would have thought it was Pat Metheny and his Synclavier, for that was how Kennedy came across. Unlike the earlier classical portion, here Kennedy weaved between jazz, folk and rock. The highlight and surprise for the audience was when Kennedy brought Jeff Beck on stage. Allaboutjazz.com reported: “Nigel was particularly keen for me to do the Hills of Saturn solo,” said Beck, who played the track on his Fender Stratocaster electric guitar. John Fordham wrote in The Guardian: “As an improviser, Kennedy has an originality of spontaneous line and rhythmic attack that most classical players lack in this context, and several of the pieces worked up a fierce, guitar-mimicking, Hendrix-like momentum… A romantic ballad dedicated to 1960s folkie Donovan was sublime, and so was the darkly elegiac Hills of Saturn - the latter richly harmonised with Tomasz Grzegorski’s tenor sax and Adam Kowalewski’s bass. Surprise guest Jeff Beck conjured an astonishing panpipe-like sound from his guitar.”

In many performances of the Bartok Solo Sonata its legendary difficulty is more apparent than its beauty and nobility: the violinist sweats profusely in a cloud of resin dust, his bow reduced to a tangle of snapped horse-hair, and the sound he produces is gritty and rebarbative, eloquently expressive of strenuous effort. Nigel Kennedy's account is the most warmly lyrical that I have heard, his tone beautiful and expressive in even the most hair-raising passages.

Into the second decade of the 21st century, British violinist continues his commitment to both the classical and jazz worlds, and to frequently mixing them. His 2011 album The Four Elements is an example of his blending of a variety of music styles, including Celtic and Gypsy fiddling, but the jazz and rock elements are the strongest, by far. The piece is scored for violin and electric violin accompanied by members of the Orchestra of Life, a group that includes vocalists, keyboards, guitars, percussion, trumpet, and strings.

Nigel Kennedy - Kafka
1996 | MP3 192 kbps | All Covers | 94.6 MB
Genre: Classical-Pop

This major genre hop by British classical violinist Nigel Kennedy appears to have trouble finding its audience. It seems that most of Kennedy's concert hall fans are not amused by his walk on the wild side, while most lovers of progressive fusion - which is what this marvelous album is - probably don't even know the record exists.
The compositions may not be Stravinsky or Elgar; but then even the best progressive music rarely is. What really makes this album an "event" is the innovative, jaw-dropping musicianship. Kennedy transforms his concert violin into an "axe"; he does for it what his hero Jimi Hendrix did for the electric guitar. He combines the virtuosity that has made him famous in the concert hall with a superlative command of electronic timbral shapeshifting and applies it to a highly varied set of compositions that mix rock with jazz with classical with East with West with . . . Importantly, Kennedy cooks. He rocks. He bites. He explodes. He cuts loose without a score as well as any rock or jazz musician, but with his own uniquely brilliant voice.