Still Colin Bass

The Belgian violinist Arthur Grumiaux made his debut in 1940 and established himself after the war as a consistently fine player with a wide repertory whose recordings show not only his mastery of the instrument but also unfailingly good taste—and lest anyone thinks that last phrase implies a lack of personality, we should remember that it was one which Haydn chose to praise Mozart. These performances of the five standard violin concertos, the Sinfonia concertante and a couple of other pieces were admired when they came out on LP, and still earn praise for their crispness, lightness and eloquence.

Along with Mackerras' EMI recording, which appeared at the same time (1966/67), Davis' Messiah established the standard for properly scaled, tastefully ornamented renditions using modern instruments. Like all classic recordings, the musical values embodied on these two well-filled discs haven't diminished a bit. You can still enjoy Davis' lively and sympathetic direction, enthusiastic singing and playing by the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, two fabulous female soloists, and though the men are a bit less distinguished, they certainly don't drag the standards down to any significant degree.

It's Christmas time, by gosh and by golly, and here comes Santa, only the sleigh has been commandeered by Colin "Mad Yeti" Tench and is being pulled by thirteen granny prog tracks. In the back are several helpers, elves who are chucking digital copies of the new Colin Tench Project album "minor Masterpiece" to the crest of the new fallen snow below…

For much of the '90s, Aretha Franklin acted as if she couldn't even care about appealing to a younger audience. She rarely recorded, and when she did, it was usually slick adult contemporary material. That's what makes the fresh A Rose Is Still a Rose such a surprise. Although it certainly has its share of predictably glossy ballads fit for adult radio (usually produced by Narada Michael Walden or Michael Powell), the most notable element of the album is that Franklin collaborates with fresh talent, all of whom are either prominent rap figures or at least fluent in hip-hop.

Le Vent, recorded in April 2013 at Oslo’s Rainbow Studio, is the second ECM album from the Colin Vallon Trio. Like the wind celebrated in its title track, the group has a subtle, insinuating power. Emerging from a still and silent place, its music can breathe gently, or steadily build pressure until attaining an eruptive forcefulness. This combining of poetic compression and quiet relentlessness was evident on the ECM debut Rruga three years ago, but with leader Vallon now writing almost all of the repertoire (although opening tune “Juuichi” is by Patrice Moret), and new drummer Julian Sartorius detailing its floating rhythms, the Swiss trio has entered a brave new space where touch and inflection are decisively more important than soloistic gesture.

"minor Masterpiece" is the 2nd album and with a stellar lineup including many from album 1. Now we have Joe Vitale (Joe Walsh, Eagles, CSN etc) as drummer. "Hair in a G-String" from 2016 has remained as No:2 album of the year on Progarchives. It could be labelled Prog before there was Prog. Split this into the written piece "Hair in a G-String" (about 46 minutes) & "Songs not in G" (About 36 minutes) and you'd have a prog album and a melodic rock album.
"minor Masterpiece" is a treat of a variety of styles and approaches. Colin is often inspired by the early seventies for the diversity and daring of the music of that time and it shows on this wonderful new offering from CTP.