Rating:
Reviewed by: Ashley Frieze
Buy it now.

I bought this CD after hearing the artist on a radio programme. Jacques Loussier, with his trio, are in the habit of taking classical music and reinterpreting it in the jazz style. The premise with this particular CD is that Bach himself is a jazz musician, but wrote within the style we're accustomed to hearing because modern jazz had not been invented. The argument is compelling. Once you have heard the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor sounding funky and the Prelude in C (also known as Ave Maria) as a jazz showpiece, you will never be able to think of them as anything else.

I've clocked up hours listening to this CD while doing other things and it's a real favourite. There are a few pieces on the disc that seem like fillers, but perhaps they are more impressive when you've heard them.

In the true style of jazz, you'll often hear Mr Loussier and his trio play a fairly straight version of many of Mr Bach's well known "standards", then follow the straight version with improvisation and deviation which will make you melt...

If you like jazz and classical music, BUY THIS CD.

01 November 2001
Ashley Frieze