BOUTIQUE EASY LISTENING INSTRUMENTALS BY GREENHILL MUSIC (USA) - BOSSA NOVA & SENTIMENTAL

BOUTIQUE EASY LISTENING INSTRUMENTALS BY GREENHILL MUSIC (USA)

When was the last time you paid close attention to a solo violin, or a piano in concert with a violin? Greenhill music draws your attention to the simplicity of each instrument easy listening style. This label does not feature ‘grand orchestras’ or large symphonic set ups. There are instead Duos, Trios, Quartets, Sextets, Septets and Octets. But these are arranged so magically that they have the desired effect of taking you from your sofa or plush chair to a truly beautiful place even though you may be physically at home, or in an office. One of their most prominent artists outside the USA is pianist Beegie Adair who deserves a review in her own right. But in this musical entrée of a review, I’d like to focus on a few unexpected and very pleasant discoveries. [As this is being written amidst the global coronavirus pandemic of 2020, I hope this modest review can trigger positive memories of travelling through music]

BEAUTIFUL STRINGS is a 24 tune compilation of two or more of violinist David Davidson’s work with the label. For fans of Helmut Zacharias and the early Franck Pourcel, this is a treat with a twist. Davidson takes what he calls ‘timeless melodies’ from film and standard popular song books and gives them his own heartfelt interpretations. The pace is never very fast even where he takes liberties with the arrangements such as the featuring of partial bossa nova rhythms on ‘Shadow of Your Smile’ and ‘The Sound of Music’. Instead, he goes for the big revelation of the romance of long passages played ‘adagio-style’, like in ‘Evergreen’, ‘Lady’, ‘Chances Are’, ‘Summer Me Winter Me’ and the truly unforgettable ‘The Way We Were’. Disc Two is poignantly patterned after the candlelight moment, showcasing just piano and violin. To me, this is a formula that works very enchantingly even though I am not a complete devotee of pure classical music. This is simply beautiful music!

ITALIAN NIGHTS works its charm by blending musical instruments like guitar, flute, mandolin, piano and violin to deliver an evocative mental picture of all things Italian. The delicacy of the cuisine, the celebration of family, friends and life, and the humanity in the simplest acts of kindness, and definitely of love, are finely conveyed in Grammy-nominated David Arkenstone’s arrangements. If you can picture yourself within the sensational movies CINEMA PARADISO, IL POSTINO, or even the whimsical THE TOURIST, this album puts you right there. Savour a cup of freshly brewed coffee in the late afternoon, a slice of pizza straight from a village oven, and some chianti from the local wineries, and this is the only soundtrack you’ll need at sundown on a beautiful country plain or by the Amalfi, Ligurian coasts…now let’s clink to that!

PARISIAN CAFÉ was the album that started it all for my attraction to Greenhill Music! I heard the track ‘C’est Magnifique’ on an online jazz channel simply titled ‘French café’ and decided this was the sort of music that has to accompany a good book or a beautiful sunrise, coffee/tea moment. And if you’ve visited Paris before and stayed in any one of the many quaint little hotels tucked in any number of narrow streets leading from L’Tour Eiffel, you will get that feeling back. The lyricism of Beegie Adair’s piano and David Davidson’s empathetic fiddle works magic without words. One recalls through the voicing of the arrangements the glories of Edith Piaf, Maurice Chevalier, Charles Aznavour and Yves Montand. At the same time, you are spontaneously memorializing your imagined Paris through the piano-violin duet. In just under an hour, this incredibly talented duo takes you to the City of Light and back with enough of a sweet tangy aftertaste to get you through your day – guaranteed.

In my fourth feature, I’d like to highlight what is probably a deleted part of the Greenhill catalogue. But if you search eBay, you can still find it! VINTAGE ROMANCE played by versatile guitarist Jack Jezzro and the Mason Embry Trio. Never mind if you have never heard them before. Put this disc on, and you’ll be transported to somewhere balmy, semi-tropical perhaps, an era where evening dances took place in homes with large patios and ballrooms featuring trios, quartets, or mini-orchestras performing only for the assembled guests. A few big names from the 1930s-60s jazz scene come to mind: Django Reinhardt, Tal Farlow, Wes Montgomery, Grant Green and those from the same vintage are given a lavish tribute by Jack and Mason. This is an album arranged for the moments when the bubbly is poured and the lights are dimmed. But of course, in today’s stressful office moments, you can put on this disc anytime for an instant trip to moonlight dancing land. Every track is a winner but my favourites are their refreshing interpretations of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Overjoyed’, the Carpenters hit ‘I Won’t Last a Day without You’ and the more mainstream ‘It Could Happen to You’, ‘The Very Thought of You’, ‘Tangerine’ and ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’. This collection truly oozes old world charm in first class stereo sound!

Till the next review, do check out www.greenhillmusic.com for listening samples, and more! You might even find their prices cheaper than elsewhere J To leave you in the happy clouds of musical pleasure here’s another album I am currently sinking into: Bossa Nova Romance – and listen out for the outstanding arrangement of that popular Italian melody ‘Senza Fine’ (YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooGE3xemTNo) – which sums it all up for me…

ALAN

May 2020