Jazz filled the home of Elliott Miles McKinley in his childhood, so it's natural that it has become a strong presence in his mature music. This characteristic is amply demonstrated in his String Quartets No. 3, No. 4, and No. 5, and this 2006 recording from MMC presents these chamber works in engaging performances by the Stamic Quartet (No. 3) and the
Martinu Quartet (No. 4 and No. 5). Both ensembles have a firm grasp of McKinley's idiom, and they play his music with high degrees of energy, lyricism, and passionate involvement. Of course, the use of jazz harmonies and swung rhythms in classical compositions is not new, and in the cases where it has been employed by others merely for color or atmosphere it usually seems unconvincing. Not so with McKinley: his incorporation of jazz elements is thorough, and it provides evidence that he hasn't superficially borrowed from the genre, but has internalized it, developed it, and made it a constant part of his expression. Of course, McKinley can't escape the sway of the great quartet composers, and there are passages in his works that seem like nods to Beethoven,
Bartók, or
Shostakovich, though they have been treated with enough subtlety that they aren't obvious or out of place. But the strength of McKinley's music lies in his lively rhythms and elastic melodies, and these impressive works show a composer mastering his medium with consummate craft and a fertile, almost improvisational, imagination. MMC's overall sound quality is good, though the String Quartet No. 5 seems to have the best reproduction and a realistic presence.