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Rare and very accessible classical jazz crossover. Maestro Loussier was more known for his Bach interpretations but this as good as any. He doesn't stray too far from the original denoting his skills as a classical pianist but maintaining interest with his improvisations. Best of both worlds not too high brow!
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Great piece of jazz arranging of classic Debussy - the sound is A1 too
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
typical professional Jacques Loussier trio material although the Play Bach series is better
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
excellent
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
We all have our own individual ideas of how we expect our favourite pieces to sound, and after many years of listening to selected performances it can be extremely pleasant, enlightening and musically valuable to hear something which breaks the mould as firmly but as unobtrusively as Jaques Loussier's 2000 take, transcription, adaptation, whatever, of eight works by Debussy, of which six were originally for piano solo - a brave man indeed ! He makes Clair de Lune ( a piece, curiously, perhaps, almost as notorious, and almost as often rather murdered, as Beethoven's Fur Elise ) into a wistful and elegant dance, stretching the length well beyond normal bounds, and infusing it with the most suble of percussion background colour. L'apres-midi lacks spontaneity perhaps; but then it is a very nervous and rather tight piece of music anyway, suiting Nijinsky's character perfectly at the time - it seems a world away now. Loussier's own rationale in the liner notes gives away his aprehension at tackling this piece, which does actually exist in solo piano arrangement. The first Arabesque becomes just that, with reminiscences of the MJQ which make one smile very contentedly. It's a sweet and undervalued work, treated here with real respect, style, and great control. Only Loussier could re-write La Fille aux cheveux de lin and he does so with neo-classic simplicity - does it work ? Not sure, but its forward thrust is compelling. L'isle joyeuse becomes a little too twentieth century and some of the implied mystique of the ancient world is lost to a precise tempo and slightly bland piano sound.In contrast this version of Reverie is truly dream-like and innocent in a most charming manner - additional blue notes are never a problem and I suspect that Debussy himself would have listened to this with a real and decadent pleasure; the end is far more than just a fade.... From the depths of La Cathedrale engloutie, with extra bumpy and somewhat too calm, rather Japanese sounds from all three players, to the delicacy of the concluding Syrinx, one of finest of early twentieth century solo flute pieces, here given a completely fabricated but utterly realxed and throughly Debussyian accompaniment,this CD has charm, appeal, musical artistry and a most refreshing sense of warmth and care from its performers. It's like looking at a familiar picture through a prism - one can only marvel and enjoy. Only on reading the liner did I discover that Loussier has treated Satie and Ravel similarly - eBay here I come...... Josephine Peach York January 2007Read full review
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