Jacques Loussier came up with his Play Bach
jazz conceptions while still in the conservatory around 1950. He started recording them in 1959, and he's been at it ever since, adapting other
classical composers along the way, but always returning to
Bach. It made sense then, and it makes sense now, for
Bach's linear, continuo-driven,
contrapuntal style has always implied a swinging pulse; even some inspired, if strictly score-bound
classical recordings of
Bach sound as if they are poised for takeoff. These recordings are not the originals, though; they are remakes made in France in the mid-'90s (from
Plays Bach and
The Bach Book) and compiled by
Telarc a decade later to coincide with
Loussier's 70th birthday year. No real surprises here; the repertory is mostly basic-repertoire
Bach favorites, which
Loussier alternates straight
classical playing with straight-ahead, elegant, rhythm-shifting
jazz elaborations for
jazz piano trio. The main difference between the 1990s
Loussier and his best-sellers from decades before is his willingness to occasionally update his adaptations with newer rhythms that didn't exist then (check out the playfully funky
Gavotte in D from the
Orchestral Suite No. 3). Nevertheless, listeners are so used to hearing
Bach peddled in so many different idioms and wardrobes that it is impossible to hear anything radical in this concept anymore -- and certainly not since fellow pianist
Uri Caine's wacky, eclectic
Goldberg Variations raised the bar for outrageously entertaining
Bach adaptations in 2000. Nothing much to report about the surround mix -- basically room ambience in the rear channels. But the piano has an appealingly robust, full-bodied
timbre in SACD, more like that of a live instrument than on the original CDs, though the drums register more clearly on CD. This was released only as a hybrid SACD disc --
Telarc's first experiment with a single inventory title -- so don't go hunting for a stereo CD-only version; it doesn't exist. ~ Richard S. Ginell
