Somewhere over the Rainbow
14-Jan-2005
Alan Morrison
Brighouse and Rastrick Band
Conductor: David Hirst
Featuring: Rhodri Davies, harp.
Huntcliffe Recordings: CDHRSCD 409
Total Playing Time: 72.55
It was supposedly the late and truly great Bill Shankly who said – "Form is temporary, class is permanent", and although it is not known whether or not he was a great fan of brass bands (although the adjudicator Malcolm Brownbill by all accounts used to pop in for a cup of tea at Anfield in his days when he was a bobby on the beat), it wouldn't have been too hard a task for the Scotsman to have recognised that Alan Morrison has been one heck of a class act all his career.
With this, his seventh solo release he once again shows why, with 16 well chosen tracks that showcase his innate ability to play with such a profound sense of style that veritably oozes class. He is also a performer that feels instinctively at ease in any genre, especially jazz, as well as pop, big band, folk, films and the well worn standards of yesteryear, whilst his abilities as a clever and subtle arranger is shown with his award winning treatment of the classic title track, ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow' as well as a number of the other items featured. It all adds up to over an hour and ten minutes of high quality solo entertainment.
It is also a release that further enhances his reputation as one of the movement's finest performers, as there is a real sense of maturity about his interpretations that are intelligent and sophisticated in their delivery, and it is his musicianship that shines through here. He can play all the fast stuff, and charm the pants off any audience with his slow melody playing, but it shows he is a performer who is the complete sum of his many varied and disparate parts.
The performances range from a coruscating opener in the form of all that voodoo black magic stuff from the James Bond film ‘Live and Let Die', (a bit of trivia here for you though – what connects the actress Jayne Seymour who was in the film, to Peter Roberts of soprano cornet fame by way of pop star David Bowie then? Answers at the end of the review.) right through some lovely lyrical slow melody playing in the likes of the traditional Welsh air,'Y Bore Glas', the neat ‘San Damiano' and the beautiful ‘Meditation' from ‘Thais' to an authentic peppery old run through Herbert Clarke's ‘Sounds from the Hudson'.
In between we get some relaxed jazz playing on ‘Hello Dolly' ‘Lazy River' and ‘Mack the Knife', which are performed with a real understanding of the form (a rarity in brass band players) and elegant treatment of some simple but very effective material from the young composer Leigh Baker on his ‘Remember Me' and ‘Wild Mountain Thyme'. Alan also produces a classic warm toned flugel sound on the atmospheric ‘Domen' which is cleverly recorded with just enough reverb echo to think you are hearing it in an empty cathedral rather than an aircraft hanger or outside toilet (which it has been done on other occasions), and also Mark Freeh's fine arrangement of ‘April in Paris'.
His skill at arranging is finely illustrated with the title track itself, which is a very elegant arrangement of the Judy Garland classic. It is not quite what you expect (and that makes it all the more enjoyable, as there has been legions of turgid ones done in the past that all sound depressingly similar) and you can hear why it deservedly won the Fodens Richardson award as best new arrangement last year. His other offerings are of the same class as well, with a special mention for his efforts to make Lionel Ritchie's nauseating song ‘Hello' sound as palatable as this with a refined arrangement.
On seeing the video to accompany the song (which for some unknown reason featured a beautiful young female blind sculptor trying to produce a clay head of Mr Ritchie at the same time as he bellowed out the song in her ear) a rather cynical pop critic remarked that it was a pity she couldn't hear as well as see – ouch! No need for that on this occasion.
All this and he still has time to include an old favourite of his, the classic cornet solo ‘Kim' which is given a lovely outing with such control that makes it sound as fresh as a daisy, whilst two of the offerings also feature some delightful harp accompaniment from Rhodri Davies. Alan's latest band, Brighouse and Rastrick are on good form throughout under the baton of David Hirst and the overall production values are as good as you would get on any of the major labels, with the colourful cover sleeve making it effectively eye catching.
Alan Morrsion is stamped with class (although looking at his dress sense on some of his earlier releases, one feels he may have been given a helpful makeover by the female members of the family over the years – gone thankfully are the grey nylon suits and the Stanley Matthews hairdo), so take the time to listen to a performer who thankfully has it in permanence as well. It is a rewarding experience to do so.
ps. All of them have different coloured eyes!
Iwan Fox.
What's on this CD?
1. Live and Let Die, McCartney, arr. Ray Farr, 3.26
2. Over the Rainbow, Harberg/Arien, Cassidy/Morrison, 6.21
3. Hello Dolly, Herman, arr. A. Morrison, 3.07
4. Ave Maria, C. Gounod, Arr. A. Morrison, 5.03
5. Remember Me, Leigh Baker, 3.16
6. Domen, Jan Magne Forde, 4.14
7. Mack the Knife, Weill/Brecht, arr. A. Morrison, 3.00
8. Y Bore Glas, Traditional, Welsh, arr. Leigh Baker, 3.35
9. San Damiano, arr. Bill Charleson, 5.18
10. Meditation from Thais, Massenet, arr. A. Morrison, 4.37
11. Lazy River, H. Carmichael, arr. A. Morrison, 4.32
12. April in Paris, Harberg, arr. M. Freeh, 4.34
13. Kim, Allan Street, 6.15
14. Wild Mountain Thyme, Francis McPeak, arr. Leigh Baker, 5.56
15. Hello, Lionel Ritchie, arr. A. Morrison, 4.19
16. Sounds from the Hudson, Herbert Clarke, arr. H. Snell, 5.12
Total CD running time: 72.55
