Duncan Wardle

Duncan Mackay is a British composer, singer, arranger, and keyboard player who has recorded three solo albums. On this, his second solo album, has moved slightly away from the Keith Emerson imitations that permeated his first album. Slightly, because the Emerson sound still appears. On the first track, Witches, a somewhat Spanish sounding symphonic proc piece, Mackay plays Emerson-like riffs on a honky-tonk tack piano, similar in sound to keith's in Benny The Bouncer. Acousic piano appears throughout the album, with Mackay providing obvious Emerson-influenced sounds…

Long a Chicago club mainstay, Duncan sings and blows harp in the time-honored 1950s style of that city's rich blues tradition. Backed by the Rockin' Johnny Band, Duncan runs through a set of originals and old favorites that proves that there's still a few of the old timers left who can deliver the goods. Duncan's harp is replaced by Martin Lang on three tracks and Eddie Taylor Jr. takes over the guitar chores on two tunes, and is particularly effective on "Tribute to Jimmy Reed." Although some of Little Arthur's originals skirt the issue of copyright and his timing is suspect in spots, this is one fine album of journeyman blues sung and played with a whole lot of feeling.

Liya Petrova presents here the first instalment of a double diptych, featuring two rarely recorded works: Walton’s Violin Concerto (1938) with a prestigious British orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Duncan Ward, and Respighi’s Violin Sonata (1917) with her regular keyboard partner Adam Laloum. The shimmering harmonic palette and the vigorously phrased lyricism of these two works respond almost instinctively to each other and make them a natural coupling.