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Sunday, February 23, 2003

Records are rated on a scale of one (poor) to four (excellent) stars.

Classical

HENRY PURCELL: "Sonatas and Theatre Music," Chatham Baroque. Dorian.

This compelling exploration of Henry Purcell's instrumental works not only is Chatham Baroque's best recording effort to date but also belongs in the ranks of the best early-music discs. The baroque violins, viola da gamba and theorbo of the locally based ensemble infuse 17th-century music of Purcell (1659-95) with a robust presence both accessible and historically accurate. The album is wholly enjoyable from beginning to end.

Four trio sonatas, two suites of incidental music to the plays "Distressed Innocence" and "The Virtuous Wife" and two variation pieces stream into one's ears with the radiance and uplift of a sunbeam on an overcast day.

Even so, history has pushed aside Purcell's instrumental catalog in favor of his dramatic works, such as "Dido and Aeneas" and "The Fairy Queen." So, the excellent playing of guest violist Scott Metcalfe and Chatham Baroque becomes crucial for the illumination of this music to the greater public. That rehabilitation may be the most significant result of this disc.

Purcell's trio sonatas each have a distinct personality and flavor, unusual for a genre that often can be pleasingly bland. Blessed with a pioneering attitude, the "English Orpheus" used chromaticism in the most ingenious manner to imbue music with innovative melodic interest.

From the unexpected chromatic cadence of Sonata No. 6 in C Major's opening movement to the scintillating variations of a passacaglia in G Minor to the melancholic twinge of an instrumental song from "The Virtuous Wife," this music brims with originality. At times, Purcell's strains hardly even seem rooted to one particular period at all -- in other words, in Chatham Baroque's hands, this antique music isn't dated.

This is the sixth installment of Chatham Baroque's seven-disc recording deal with Dorian Recordings, and the group is obviously not resting on its laurels.

Not an ensemble to allow academic distance between its audience and the music, the group has a palpable emotional connection to Purcell's music, though the playing remains grounded in practice. But never before have the members of Chatham Baroque melded so perfectly with the music they've played. Their focus is an amazing feat considering they recorded this album in upstate New York in the days after 9/11.

So, put away your Pachelbel, check your Corelli and vault your Vivaldi. With this banner disc, in stores on Tuesday, Chatham Baroque has made the case that Purcell deserves just as much credit for his outstanding instrumental output as they.

-- Andrew Druckenbrod

Jazz

THE MARSALIS FAMILY: "A Jazz Celebration." Marsalis Music/Rounder.

Besides being a major event, the first-ever performance together by all five members of the talented Marsalis family also turned out to be a stylistically diverse, highly entertaining show.

The unquestioned First Family of Jazz -- father/pianist Ellis and sons Wynton (trumpet), Branford (tenor and soprano saxophones), Delfeayo (trombone) and Jason (drums) -- got together in August 2001 for a concert honoring Ellis' retirement after 12 years from the music faculty of the University of New Orleans. The concert also marked the establishment of a chair in the elder Marsalis' honor.

New Orleans' long and rich musical history has been enriched even more for the past several decades by Ellis & Sons, and one of the best things about this recording is that they directly acknowledged that city's great jazz tradition with terrific versions of Nawlins' classics "St. James Infirmary" and "Struttin' With Some Barbecue."

Though each son almost certainly was influenced by his dad, each also has gone his own way, as epitomized by the most famous of the brothers, Branford and Wynton. As players, composers and bandleaders, Branford is more modernist, experimental; Wynton is more in the tradition, from Satchmo to Duke to Art Blakey.

So there was no guarantee this familial quintet (sextet with the addition of bassist John Guerin, an Ellis student) would mesh. It did.

That results, at least partly, from the fact that the compositions -- including four by Ellis and one from Branford -- cover quite a bit of stylistic ground and leave plenty of room for individual expression.

Ellis' opening "Swinging at the Haven," with its catchy, hard-bop theme, sounds as if it's right out of Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, with whom Wynton and Branford played together in the early '80s.

A terrific arrangement of "Surrey With the Fringe on Top" -- somewhat similar to Ahmad Jamal's famous 1960s arrangement (and also including strains of Jamal's "Poinciana") -- features Guerin's "slapped" bass solo and Jason's tom-tom breaks.

Branford's "Cain and Abel" is more of a post-bop tune and features fiery exchanges between the composer and Wynton. Branford (on soprano) and Wynton are a duet again on Ellis' vampish "Nostalgic Impressions."

Delfeayo struts his stuff with a nod toward Louis Armstrong's great trombonist, Trummy Young, on "Sultry Serenade."

Everyone solos on Ellis' most modern-sounding piece, "Twelve's It," and Ellis steps into the spotlight, showcasing a delicate touch on his melancholy ballad "After."

Harry Connick Jr., another Ellis pupil perhaps better known as an actor, is a fine pianist/vocalist, as he demonstrates on "St. James Infirmary." Connick's singing and trill-filled playing are solid, but guest trombonist Lucien Barbarin steals the show with some of the best plunger-mute playing this side of the late Al Grey.

Everybody takes a turn on the closing "Struttin'" (Lillian Hardin Armstrong/Don Raye), but standing out are Wynton's joyous a cappella intro and ensuing solo and Jason's old-school New Orleans drumming.

This CD won't be in stores until March 12. Nonetheless, this is Marsalis Day on Pittsburgh's WQED-TV. A filmed version of "The Marsalis Family: A Jazz Celebration" airs today at 4 p.m., preceded at 3 by "Ellis Marsalis: Jazz Is Spoken Here."

-- Bob Protzman

R&B/Soul

HOUSE OF SOUL: "Slammin'." No label; catalog No. HS6881

For 12 years, the house band at Rosebud has made Pittsburgh safe for what's now known as old-school funk from the 1970s and '80s.

Not content to be merely an oldies band, it released this first CD last year but with all original tunes. That's to be expected from an ambitious band, but I was a bit disappointed, perhaps because I expected something a little bit heavier.

Among the better selections are the sensuous ballad "Touch Me," with vocal by Kim Lomax, guitar solo by Gary Howard and horns providing the right accents; and "It's Too Bad" with Iris Joy Brown on vocal. The latter works, in large part, because all the instrumentalists, most of whom have jazz backgrounds, get to show off a little bit.

"Boyfriend," with Lomax on lead vocal, offers a smooth bass line from Gary Davis, and the instrumental "Z-Man (ZTSIII)" feels a little like "smooth jazz" a la Incognito. Thanks to Davis, the title track is by far the funkiest cut, but it could use some horns.

On the other hand, "Everybody Get Up" is a party anthem that goes a little too long, though Keith Flowers' synthesizer solo at the end proves the highlight. "Last Chance to Dance" was a tad reminiscent of the Ohio Players, but it doesn't have much of a groove.

-- Rick Nowlin