CD Hotlist: George Robert Plays Michel Legrand
I’m not usually very keen on jazz recordings that involve orchestral strings, still less an entire symphony orchestra. But I decided to give this one a shot, and I was glad I did. Sadly, this was the final recording by saxophonist George Robert before he died earlier this year. It finds him celebrating the melodic talents of film composer Michel Legrand, performing arrangements of themes from films like Brian’s Song, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, and Yentl.
My wife shot me a puzzled look when I put this on our home stereo–again: this is not the kind of thing I would normally tolerate–but there’s something about these arrangements that, despite their lushness, keeps them from ever tipping over into schlock.
I think it has something to do not only with Robert’s exceptionally tasteful playing, but also with Torben Oxbol’s orchestral arrangements–which are all performed by means of MIDI and digital instrument samples. (Unless someone tips you off to this fact, you probably won’t be able to tell that the instruments aren’t live.)
The result is a deeply beautiful album.
Claves
CD 1607
Rick’s Pick
Find this album on Claves
Online links
iTunes: http://apple.co/26TKeZR
Qobuz: http://bit.ly/1SMMzzT
AmazonMp3: https://goo.gl/Ti44bn
AllMusic: http://bit.ly/1ZT9GcR
Listen now on Spotify
More articles about George Robert..
His discography: http://www.georgerobert.com/#discography
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