With the release of his latest album BLOOM, which features an 18-piece string orchestra and deep classical influences, pianist Bill Laurance crosses a fence well-trodden by jazz greats of the past.
In this article, Laurance - who balances work as a founding member of Grammy Award winners Snarky Puppy with his own solo projects - highlights five of the great classical albums performed by jazz artists.
The intersection of jazz and classical music has yielded some of the most inventive albums in modern music history, with legends old and new merging the improvisational prowess of jazz with the structured nuances of classical compositions.
These five albums, spanning five decades, showcase jazz icons embracing the classical genre, demonstrating their versatility and a desire to expand the musical landscape.
Herbie Hancock: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in G, 2nd Movement
Winning the 1999 Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Herbie Hancock’s foray into classical music with his take on the Adagio slow movement from Ravel's iconic Piano Concerto in G major marked a pivotal moment in his artistic development - and a lightbulb moment for many jazz artists.
- Ravel's Boléro: what makes it so unique?
- A guide to Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé and its best recordings
Famous as Ravel’s penultimate composition, the piece was first performed in 1932 Paris, where the influence of jazz had already seeped into popular music. Hancock’s version more than 60 years later adds an additional layer of intricacy to the original, with the solo piano introduction gradually augmented by a delicate blend of strings and wind instruments.
Hancock’s seamless fusion of the traditional classical form with free-flowing jazz improvisation not only opens the door to new musical possibilities but also encapsulates his ceaseless drive for innovation.
Brad Mehldau: After Bach
It’s impossible to talk about the crossover between jazz and classical music without mentioning modern piano great Brad Mehldau and his album After Bach.
It’s a compelling tribute to Johann Sebastian Bach, with Mehldau managing to pay homage to the master whilst evolving the score in what feels like the only way possible.
Recorded in 2017, the album blends five compositions from Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier with pieces by Mehldau which take inspiration from the originals. Whilst we perhaps associate classical music less with improvisation today, Bach was a famously skilled improviser, drawing another interesting line between two pianists separated by nearly three centuries.
- Bach for beginners: the best recordings to help you discover Bach
- Bach finishes strongly in our list of the greatest composers of all time
In extending Bach’s compositions and intertwining his own jazz-inflected interpretations, the recording seems to converse with Bach’s legacy, proposing a modern evolution of his musical ideas.
Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra: Promises
Released in 2021 on the Luaka Bop label, 'Promises' brings together UK artist Floating Points, jazz saxophone legend Pharoah Sanders and strings from The London Symphony Orchestra in an epic 46-minutes exploring the essence of minimalism.
Ambient, restrained and dreamy, the music is spread across nine movements but based on a single thematic progression. Whilst perhaps best known for his ferocious contribution to the 1960s avant-garde movement in jazz, Pharoah Sanders shines in his role as the solo horn, whilst the string arrangements provide some dramatic shape to the proceedings.
Transcending the genres which each of its participants are best known for, the recording showcases a remarkable collaboration which was nominated for the 2021 Mercury Music Prize.
It’s a masterclass in restraint: the musicians succeed in making one progression hold interest for 46 minutes. Less is more and the more is spiritual.
Philip Glass & Ravi Shankar: Passages
Falling firmly into the chamber music arena, 1990's Passages sees Philip Glass’s signature meditative and minimalist style meet Ravi Shankar’s expressive brand of Indian classical music.
- The brilliance of Philip Glass
- Sitarist Jasdeep Singh Degun on creating crossovers between Indian and Western classical music
From a compositional perspective, there’s something fascinating going on too: each artist wrote arrangements around themes written by the other.
The result is an enchanting soundscape which is a profound testament to the power of cross-genre collaboration, with both artists bringing their unique musical languages to converse in a dialect of sheer transcendence.
The meditative, trance-like quality of Philip Glass's writing combined with the world of Shankar creates the perfect kind of escapism.
Duke Ellington: Nutcracker Suite
Ever the pioneer, legendary bandleader, composer and pianist Duke Ellington famously reworked the music from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite into a big band extravaganza for one of the best Christmas albums of all time.
Unlike the other entries on this list, Ellington reimagines the classical score from the 1892 original with his trademark jazz feel, infusing swing rhythms and blues-style nuances that suggest this Russian ballet music was always meant to groove.
- The finest ballet scores of all time
- Ballet's greatest composers
Perhaps the best example of this is in his treatment of the iconic “Dance of The Sugar Plum Fairy” which takes on a sultry air with muted brass and a lilting tenor saxophone lead.
This album not only entertains but also exemplifies how jazz can revitalise and reinterpret classical works for a new audience.
