COMPOSERS: Barbara Thompson And The Medici Quartet
LABELS: Virgin
WORKS: Mack The Knife; September Song
PERFORMER: Thompson (ss, as, ts); Paul Robertson (v); Cathy Thompson (v); Ivo-Jan van der Werff (viola); Anthony Lewis (cello)
CATALOGUE NO: VC 5 45167 2
As a composer of extended works for large ensembles and as a featured soloist in other writer’s projects, this classically trained saxophonist has never confined herself to straightahead jazz. In this selection from the Kurt Weill songbook, reflective versions of favourites such as ‘Mack the Knife’ and ‘September Song’ are provided by nine arrangers, including Richard Rodney Bennett and John Dankworth. Each provides space for Thompson’s superior technique and warm tone. The combination of strings, reeds and Weill seems so natural here, you wonder it hasn’t been attempted before. Garry Booth
Barbara Thompson And The Medici Quartet
As a composer of extended works for large ensembles and as a featured soloist in other writer’s projects, this classically trained saxophonist has never confined herself to straightahead jazz. In this selection from the Kurt Weill songbook, reflective versions of favourites such as ‘Mack the Knife’ and ‘September Song’ are provided by nine arrangers, including Richard Rodney Bennett and John Dankworth. Each provides space for Thompson’s superior technique and warm tone. The combination of strings, reeds and Weill seems so natural here, you wonder it hasn’t been attempted before. Garry Booth
Our rating
4
Published: January 20, 2012 at 3:07 pm