Bill Cunliffe: BACHanalia

As the title denotes, pianist Bill Cunliffe and his ensemble take a swing (literally) at the great Johann Sebastian on BACHanalia, pivoting as well toward the music of C.P.E. Bach, Sergei Prokofiev, Manuel de Falla, Cole Porter, Oscar Levant and Cunliffe himself. In spite of its classical veneer, this is at its core a jazz session, and as such embodies the essential elements one would expect from such an enterprise. To phrase it another way, Cunliffe transports these masters of the classical genre into the twenty-first century, giving their timeless music a new vantage point from which to entice the contemporary listener.

J.S. Bach is refurbished on the melodious "Sleepers Awake" and Cunliffe's well-designed "Goldberg Contraption," C.P.E. Bach on the light-hearted "Solfeggietto." Denise Donatelli's wordless vocal is used to good effect here, as it is on "Sleepers Awake" (she croons the lyrics on Porter's "I've Got You Under My Skin," underlining a brisk solo by tenor saxophonist Rob Lockart). The first movement of Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3 is an agile and panoramic rendition that runs for more than seventeen minutes and encloses forceful statements by Cunliffe (who reminds everyone what a marvelous player he is), Lockart, trombonist Andy Martin, guitarist Larry Koonse and drummer Joe La Barbera whose sharp and perceptive timekeeping is decisive on every number.

Guest trumpeter Terell Stafford shines on Levant's "Blame It on My Youth," as does soprano Bob Sheppard on Cunliffe's "Afluencia," a fast waltz written years ago for his Latin band, Imaginacion. Trombonist Bob McChesney solos earnestly alongside Cunliffe on "Sleepers Awake," and with Cunliffe and Koonse on "Goldberg Contraption." The snappy "Three-Cornered Hat" enfolds brief but emotive solos by La Barbera, trumpeter Jon Papenbrook, trombonist Ido Meshulam and tenor Jeff Ellwood. High marks to Cunliffe and his teammates not only for braving music that is normally outside their comfort zone but doing so with proficiency and panache, all the while making sure it swings in the best big-band tradition.