No matter what you think of
Simon Rattle's conducting -- whether you consider the former music director of the
City of Birmingham Symphony a individualistic genius or the current music director of the
Berlin Philharmonic an idiosyncratic eccentric -- you have to admit that this disc,
The Jazz Album -- A Tribute to the Jazz Age, is terrific. Teamed with the incredibly virtuosic and unbelievably flexible
London Sinfonietta,
Rattle's conducting is neither too heavy nor too light, but just right, up tight, and on the sweet spot. Mixing uptown music heading downtown --
Milhaud's La Creation du monde -- with downtown music heading uptown --
Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue -- and works for instrumental soloists --
Stravinsky's Ebony Concerto -- with works for vocal soloists --
Donaldson and
Kahn's "Makin' Whoopee" -- makes for a highly varied program. And mixing soloists such as saxophonist
John Harle, pianist
Peter Donohoe, clarinetist
Michael Collins, high tenor Jeremiah Taylor, and the incomparable Harvey & the Wallbangers makes for a wildly varied program. But aside from the orchestra, the repertoire, and the soloists, the thing that truly distinguishes these performances is
Rattle's conducting -- because whether you think
Rattle's a genius or an eccentric, he fits right in with this ebullient, effervescent, and optimistic material, giving it a snap, crackle, and pop that few other conductors can match. Recorded in clean, crisp sound by producer
David Murray, this disc will thrill
Rattle's fans -- and chill
Rattle's foes.