Chamber Music

Albenrezension

Norma Winstone has always been so much more than a just singer, lyric interpreter, or conventional stylist. Always reaching for both terrestrial and stellar depths while never forgetting her dignified British core, Chamber Music not only takes a Baroque concept to heart, but also is mindful of contemporary music of many stripes. Certainly jazz is a part of her equation, but so is minimalism, free expression, poetry, beautiful words and tones, and a wonderful symbiosis with her musicians. Italian pianist Glauco Venier is a true find, a modern player whose classical training is evident, but he is not a slave to searching for his own voice. Austrian multi-woodwind accompanist Klaus Gesing is just as much a dancer or skater as a musician, darting, bobbing, and weaving lustrous textures around Winstone and Venier. Their repertoire is quite intriguing, ranging from the playful counterpointed yet serenely hymnal title track, based on music of "Nearer My God to Thee" and words penned by James Joyce, the recited spoken words of Christina Rossetti over Gesing's bass clarinet on the free based "Remember," and a version of the Tom Waits tune "San Diego Serenade" based on the thought "never saw...etc." in a repast that shows Winstone at her most soulful. Then there's the cerebral music you expect, as on the outstanding atmospheric heart stopper of Gesing's "Fanfare" with soprano sax and vocals in tandem with Venier's piano skimming around them. "Until Tomorrow" regards the waiting game with the chiming piano of Venier as linked to the ECM sound as anything Winstone has ever done for that label. "Snowflakes" has the delicate and fragile precipitous forms meted in introspective select piano chords, while Vince Mendoza's "Panis Angelicus" starts spiritual, then goes contemporary in 6/8 mirror modal motifs, with the insistent bass clarinet of Gesing again in assertive voicings. The overblown tones of his low woodwind are again different on the spooky "Troll's Party" with dampened percussive ghostly tapping and a bit of scat. Very similar to the signature sound of Jane Ira Bloom, Gesing's soprano is in an up and down dynamic mood during "Mirror Mirror," one of four pieces where Winstone is credited with lyrics. Of course, she is vocally at the top of her game, at once demure, siren-like, haunting, evocative, wise beyond the ages, and always delightful. This is one of many excellent efforts from a great vocal artist who needs no overt beatmaker to give her music rhythmic life, spark, and consistency. It comes highly recommended as one of Norma Winstone's most completely realized efforts in her illustrious career. ~ Michael G. Nastos, Rovi