Search - Regina Carter :: Paganini: After a Dream

Danette K. from DULUTH, MN
Reviewed on 11/14/2008...

Kind of a dull CD- good for back ground music

0 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Remarkable instrument provenance; sublime performance.

Bob Zeidler | Charlton, MA United States | 05/03/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I can honestly state that I've been waiting many months for this release, having read about the future possibility of its existence when the original performances took place well over a year ago, with recording sessions a year later. And I'm one happy camper now that it's safely here.



Regina Carter is surely one of the finest jazz violinists playing today. (On the distaff side, it's simply no contest. While there's no shortage of distaff Celtic, bluegrass or country fiddlers, Ms. Carter has the jazz sphere all to herself.) But the provenance of this release makes it more than a little special.



The (somewhat) short version of the provenance: Ms. Carter plays Paganini's own personal violin, a 1743 Guarneri del Gesu known as "Il Cannone" ("The Cannon"), the first jazz (and, for that matter, African American) artist to have done so. It is an instrument with gorgeous, lustrous tone, and, given its pedigree, an instrument that is closely guarded by its Genoese museum curators. The idea of Ms. Carter's performing on this rarest of rare instruments came about by way of "a friend of a friend" who thought the matchmaking to be appropriate. The actual amount of logistical legwork and preparation required to pull it off, and the uncertainty of the success of the venture at every stage, are nicely described by her in the booklet notes. Good for her! What a coup!



Most of the works Ms. Carter has chosen are classics: either from the world of classical music, in suitable arrangements for her inimitable style, or are Latin American classics that fit her style quite naturally. The former are all French (well-known works of Ravel, Debussy and Fauré); the arrangements (all nicely tasteful) to some might suggest - or even shout - "crossover" (and all that the genre implies), but Ms. Carter plays them with such panache and soul, taking full advantage of the remarkable instrument provided her, that I can't imagine even the most hardened jazz-head not liking them.



The two Latin American classics are among my (and, I'm sure, others) favorites: the main theme from "Black Orpheus," by Luiz Bonfá, and Astor Piazzolla's insinuiatingly langorous tango, "Oblivion" (one of my all-time favorite Piazzolla pieces). Another obviously Latin piece is by the great film score composer Ennio Morricone, from his music for "Cinema Paradiso." The album is rounded out with two works written for the occasion: "Healing in Foreign Lands" by Werner "Vana" Gierig, the pianist in Ms. Carter's combo, and an excerpt from her own "Alexandra," a work commissioned by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.



All of the works have Ms. Carter backed by her combo of piano, bass and percussion, with a nice addition of cello on the Bonfá track and one of the two Fauré tracks. Some works are discreetly backed by strings, particularly nicely in the Piazzolla and Morricone tracks.



But Ms. Carter is front and center throughout the album. And this classically-trained jazz artist is simply terrific everywhere, blending her classical skills and her hard-swinging jazz abilities, on what must be one of the finest fiddles in the world, to what can only be described as wonderful and gorgeous effect. Every single track on this album is a winner; not a dog amongst them; not even close!



An added bonus: My first listen to this (with several already behind me now as I write) was in my desk-located Discman. I saw that there is a separate band on the outer edge of the CD. Figuring it for a CD-ROM band, I stuck it in my computer CD slot. Sure enough, the disc includes a travelogue of Genoa. Of course, had I taken the trouble to actually READ the jewel box, I would have seen the "Enhanced CD" logo. So there you have it: A nice no-charge extra.



My early prediction: This album will be in every jazz lover's and fiddle fanatic's library in short order. Better get yours now.



Bob Zeidler"

Maybe Album of the Year

Bob Zeidler | 05/12/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It might only be May, but Ms. Carter's new release, "Paganini: After a Dream" should be at or near the top of all the critics' lists come December. While this reviewer has greatly enjoyed all of her other releases, this recording is by far one of the best made by any artist in the past thirty years. Ms. Carter (one of the best musicians in any genre playing in the world right now) and her ensemble evoke such profound emotion on all of the tracks, but two particularly stand out: Ravel's "Pavane pour une infante defunte" and Morricone's "Cinema Paradiso" theme. These works defy musical category; they are simply statements of pure artistic brilliance on the part of Ms. Carter and her colleagues, and listening to them will leave a lump in your throat. An absolutely extraordinary emotional statement."