Album reviews: Scott Nolan, Marius Neset, Cédric Tiberghien

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This article was published 19/01/2024 (994 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ROOTS

Scott Nolan

Before Tonight (DreamPlay)

It’s wonderful to see Scott Nolan being more active. That’s not to say the accomplished folk/roots singer, songwriter and music producer from Winnipeg has been on an official “hiatus” (other than the one that affected us all) — just that he’s been exploring other aspects of his artistic talents and intellectual curiosity.

Since releasing Silverhill in 2015, Nolan has been writing poetry (he published his first volume, Moon Was a Feather, in 2019), producing albums for others (most notably William Prince) and fostering a musical partnership with composer/musician Glenn Buhr, which bore sweet fruit as Nolan’s exquisite 2022 chamber-pop album, Suburb Beautiful.

More recently, Nolan has dusted the cobwebs from his live chops and also headed back into his Song Shop studio to record. Before Tonight was laid down in October 2022 and released last month, but its birth was officially acknowledged with a launch party last week at Times Change(d) High & Lonesome Club.

At its essence, this eight-song album is the culmination of all the work Nolan has done to date. His feel for and appreciation of all forms of roots music — folk, blues, country and New Orleans jazz — permeate each of these tunes, and a full band brings musical heft to the work. He modulates his slightly nasal, slightly sibilant singing voice to suit the tone and tenor of each lyric, melody and style.

The result is a journey that takes listeners to a Celtic-tinged Toronto in the last century (Cabbagetown), explores the swampy Lousiana vibe of the west side of Lake Manitoba (Ebb and Flow), and embraces a jaunty blend of piano pop and keening twang on No Country.

The rhythm and phrasing of the opening few couplets of Old Friends (Eight-Ball Over Old Vienna) will remind some Nolan devotees of Bad Liver/Broken Heart, but this song, arguably the album’s centrepiece, evolves from wistful nostalgia into rueful longing as the voices of Nolan and backing vocalist Jess Rae blend with the saxophone of Paul Balcain in a crescendo of wordless, plaintive howls.

The only complaint? At just half an hour, Before Tonight will leave listeners wanting more. Soon. HHHH½ out of five stars

Stream: Before Tonight; Ebb and Flow; Old Friends (Eight-Ball Over Old Vienna).

— John Kendle

JAZZ

Marius Neset

Geyser: Live At Royal Albert Hall – BBC Proms (ACT)

Norwegian saxophonist and composer Marius Neset has released many fine albums from small group to large ensemble formats. He has a long relationship with the London Sinfonietta as this is the third large-scale symphonic work he has composed for them.

This relationship with the Sinfonietta and its leader Geoffrey Paterson reaches full bloom with this wonderful album. Most of the solo work is with Neset’s quintet: Ivo Neame on piano, Jim Hart on vibes and marimba, Conor Chaplin on bass and Anton Eger on drums and percussion. The experienced members of the Sinfonietta add much more than simply background support. They are fully engaged throughout.

Neset explains that his compositions during COVID were quite dark. He entered this project intending to make it a counterfoil to that ennui. While composing, he was suddenly shocked and saddened by the war between Russia and Ukraine, and the mood needed redefinition and serious effort to maintain his goal.

He accomplished this beautifully.

The eight-part Geyser suite begins with Waterfall, a meditative opening that sets up the theme and shifting emotions. Neset enters about four minutes in and the intensity increases into the second track, On Fire, which twists the time signature in complex patterns. Part 4, Under the Water, is a lush ballad in the midst of increasing rhythmic intensity.

Parts 5 and 6, Lava and Flow inexorably build the rhythmic power and lighten the mood. The solos are terrific, and Neset shines on both tenor and soprano. Hart’s vibraphone drives Lava along into relentless movement.

The final two parts, Meeting Magna and Outbreak bring the album home with full-on driving excitement. When the Royal Albert Hall audience bursts into applause at the end one wants to join them. Symphonic jazz is not uncommon these days, but the level of overwhelming joy and exclamation here are definitely uncommon. If you enjoy swinging symphonic jazz, you mustn’t overlook this release. HHHH★ out of five stars

Stream: Part 5 – Lava; Part 8 – Outbreak

— Keith Black

CLASSICAL

Cédric Tiberghien

Ludwig van Beethoven: Complete Piano Variations Vol. II (Harmonia Mundi)

As a followup to his last release, Cédric Tiberghien continues his exploration of Beethoven’s complete piano variations, with the fulsome double-disc album anchored by 32 Variations in C minor, WoO 80.

While it’s admittedly daunting to listen to multiple sets of variations based on a single theme, the program itself aptly showcases Tiberghien’s bravura underpinned by technical prowess. It also proves his ability to shape-shift between varying compositional styles, including the 32 Variations hailed as “Beethoven’s most overt pianistic homage to the baroque.”

Highlights include Nos. 6, 10 and 11, each variation infused with idiosyncratic temperament, to the limpid sentimentalism of Nos. 9, and 30, before a final flurry of rapid-fire passagework in No. 32.

Other treats include the same composer’s 24 Variations on ‘Venni amore,’ Wo065, arguably lesser known 5 Variations on ‘Rule, Britannia!,” Wo79, and a (timely) corollary 7 Variations on ‘God Save the King,” Wo078, among others.

The album makes a compelling case for the enduring appeal of the genre itself, offering works penned by 20th-century American composers George Crumb, Morton Feldman and John Cage, with the latter’s sparsely crafted 7 Haiku another intriguing highlight.

However, all roads will always lead to J. S. Bach, with two final works: Aria variata alla maniera italiana, BWV 989, as well as Brahms’s transcription of the Baroque composer’s Chaconne, in turn excerpted from his Partita for Solo Violin No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1004, notably scored for left hand alone, bringing this celebration of the time-honoured tradition of “theme and variations” — as well as this entire, multi-disc album — full circle. HHHH out of five stars

Stream: 32 Variations in C minor, WoO 80l; Partita for Solo Violin No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1004; Chaconne; 7 Haiku.

— Holly Harris