Playing Doctor

John Adams’ 2005 opera explores the personal and moral issues surrounding the invention of the atomic bomb. Captured live in concert, it has colossal power and conviction. At its center is Gerald Finley’s commanding performance as Robert Oppenheimer, a scientist wracked by doubts. Having sung it at the premiere and many times since, he produces a magnificently characterized creation. Julia Bullock, Brindley Sherratt, Samuel Sakker, and Andrew Staples are all superb in supporting roles and Adams himself draws virtuoso playing from a truly galvanized BBC Symphony Orchestra. A major recording of a modern operatic classic.

John Adams’ 2005 opera explores the personal and moral issues surrounding the invention of the atomic bomb. Captured live in concert, it has colossal power and conviction. At its center is Gerald Finley’s commanding performance as Robert Oppenheimer, a scientist wracked by doubts. Having sung it at the premiere and many times since, he produces a magnificently characterized creation. Julia Bullock, Brindley Sherratt, Samuel Sakker, and Andrew Staples are all superb in supporting roles and Adams himself draws virtuoso playing from a truly galvanized BBC Symphony Orchestra. A major recording of a modern operatic classic.

Recorded live at the famous Lighthouse club in Hermosa Beach, CA, and reissued on CD in 1991, this disc finds Baker playing well, if not very consistently, and features a shifting group behind him that includes, on various tracks, saxophonists Bud Shank, Bob Cooper, and Jimmy Giuffre; pianists Russ Freeman and the underrated Claude Williamson; Lighthouse fixture Howard Rumsey on bass; and drummers Max Roach and Shelly Manne. The sound quality is fair and the playing occasionally gets a little bit sloppy Baker's solo work on "Pirouette" is especially dodgy but there are some moments of real inspiration, including the band' s boppish up-tempo reading of "Winter Wonderland" and Manne's inventive percussion on the Latin-flavored Cooper composition "Witch Doctor." There are better introductions to the Lighthouse sound, but this album is sure to please Chet Baker fans.