Benny Goodman updated

Press, 25 July 1984, Page 18

Benny Goodman updated

Jazz review by

ALLAN FRANCIS

SYLVIA VRETHAMMAR AND GEORGIE FAME. In Goodmansland. Various Benny Goodman numbers sung in new arrangements by Rob Pronk. RCA POW 6071. Jazz purists will doubtless regard any tamperings of the master jazz clarinetist with suspicion, and rightly so, but this selection hardly detracts from Goodman’s immortal style, instead it complements the older rigid arrangements. One must accord full marks for originality which does not dip into banality. Regardless of what the pair do to the well-known standards it is impossible to deny that there is real artistry by Sylvia Vrethammar and the pop-orientated Fame. The eloquent Herb Geller assists with alto and soprano saxophones and apart from many guitars of the electric variety, the other principal soloist is Putte Wickman on clarinet, an obvious and essential part of this tribute. This is not the first essay into the pre-war treasure house of jazz apparently, and I would imagine not the last. “Flying Home,” “Don’t Be That Way,” “Airmail Special,” “Memories of You” and a good old rousing bash with a medley covers a lot of Goodman ground

TWO MOODS OF GLENN MILLER. 16 tracks from 1939 to 1942 reprocessed

digitally by RCA VPL 1 0428 Coming from a company noted for its superb reproduction of early jazz, this new Miller recording should attract quite a bit of interest from the considerable following of that band leader. The main question here therefore is whether yet another presentation of numbers, that have already been upgraded many times before, warrants another spin. It only takes a few moments to decide that there is certainly a clearer definition of the old sound — not a great deal to be sure, but on good equipment quite a benefit. This boost gives new life to the standards, “Pennsylvania 6-5000,” “Stardust,” “Elmer’s Tune,” and “Kalmazoo,” but RCA has wisely opted to include some lesser lights, “Boulder Buff,” “The Spirit is Willing,” “Sliphorn Jive,” and “Johnson Rag.” Those who are tired of making do with ersatz Miller or the weary sound of those old 78s will welcome the chance to hear their champion under these conditions. PAT METHENY GROUP TRAVELS. Recorded live in Concert. EC 1252/53. Like Keith Jarrett, Pat

Metheny offers listeners of all ages a musical diet that holds the power to captivate all the diverse tastes and interests that abound in this field. Spread over two separate recording dates in July and October, 1982, this Germanrecorded set unfolds like the journey it portrays, into an astonishing variety of harmonic colours and sounds that will intrigue all jazz lovers. The musical journey is instigated by the leader with some assistance from Lyle Mays and covers the numbers “Are You Going With Me,” “The Fields-The Sky,” “Goin’ Ahead,” and other on-going tracks, i There is little evidence anywhere of the vulgar banality that is the hallmark of so much modern pop music, the superficial devices that one outgrows soon after leaving the terrible teens behind. Both Jarrett and Metheny have attained a maturity in their music that is as highly satisfying as it is listenable. This must be one of the few serious successful attempts to bridge the gap between “modern” jazz and pop music I have heard — except for Herbie Hancock’s essays into the same strata.