Blandness wins

Press, 9 January 1986, Page 13

Blandness wins

By

ALLAN FRANCIS

RICHARD CLAYDERMAN. Rhapsody — A journey, with the RPO, through favourite classical themes. WEA 2527131. Having completely exhausted the catalogues of banality, the young French pianist is still capturing the hearts and imaginations of his many fans by playing classical themes in that characteristically simpering manner that has won him immense popularity. Richard Clayderman reaches the very peak of ordinariness, but it is this very asset that is his key to success. With a style that is bland, unimaginative and unremarkable, he has scored over many with far more genuine talent. As the French say — that is life, Clayderman simply becomes part of the modern way of living and must be accepted for the commercial and public response he evokes. In the grand manner of liner notes surrounding mediocre personalities, the Clayderman league claim he has put his all into footing it with the auspicious Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and of course that he succeeds admirably. The “tunes” are those which have provided others in the past with the right sort of soupiness in order to make them palatable; Richard Addinsell’s “Warsaw Concerto”, Debussy’s “Claire de Lune”, Olwen’s “Dream of Olwyn”, “Fur Elise” by you know who, and the good old “Cornish Rhapsody”. The arrangements are adapted to suit the pianist’s personal style rather than the composers’, and the results are guaranteed to find favour within the large body of Clayderman fans. AN EVENING WITH WINDHAM HILL LIVE. Featuring George Winston, Alex de Grassi, William Ackerman, Michael Hedges, Liz Story, Darol Anger and Chuck Greenberg. WINDHAM HILL COMPACT DISC WD-1026. If there is any outstanding fault here it is the fact o that a programme imbal- ' ance favours the guitar over all other instruments. By the time the evening is half gone, one is intoxicated with the intellectual sounds of Michael Hedges, Alex de Grassi and Will Ackerman. In a way, this is a pity because none of the music

falls below a very high level, the established artistic ideals from previous LP’s are maintained in the noblest sense. Nothing that has been heard to date is anything but refined and gracious, though in patches it is lacking in character and depth. Sound quality is forward and arresting, making those deceptive chords that initially appear unobtrusive anything but insignificant. The Compact Disc is especially good here, giving the guitar an ethereal quality that obviously fits the purpose of the composers. It goes without saying that the entire programme is comprised of originals; I haven’t yet heard these musicians playing anything that is not homegrown. One has to wait quite a while before George Winston gets the centre stage though, which is a pity. The group confines itself to spartan lines, more akin to a modern version of very old ideals where Court musicians play over various subjects for their own satisfaction. Only in the last track does George Winston pay homage to the great modern guitarist, John McLaughlin with a brief flirtation of that player’s work, “Lotus Feet”. It may be classed as “musicians’ music” in the end, but it has that enduring quality that will cast a wider net than that. STEPS AHEAD. Michael Brecker Quartet with Elaine Elias. ELEKTRA WEA COMPACT DISC 7559-60168-2. I couldn’t help comparing this with the Morrissey Mullen project on Coda Records producing what is held to be jazz of the 80s. Whether Morrissey Mullen is truly representative of modern jazz at its best is hard to say; equally confusing is the work of Steps Ahead, both teams producing a nervous quality to their music that is heralded

by blowsy tenor solos, soulless pianos and rhythm sections that owe much to the pneumatic drill. Again, most of the work played by Steps Ahead is homegrown and is sophisticated at least, if not always profound. Much is made of repeated phrases, which in effect means that most E;s could easily have half their actual length, yet just as effective. The only certainty is that Steps Ahead are aptly named — particularly compared with Morrissey Mullen. Their work is far superior to the latter, with greater character and more depth to their inspiration. They should be heard, if only to hear what modern musicians are saying.