Biréli Lagrène and Sylvain Luc: Best Moments
Author: Robert Shore
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Musicians: |
Sylvain Luc (g) |
Label: |
Dreyfus |
Magazine Review Date: |
May/2012 |
Catalogue Number: |
FDM 46050 36979 2 |
RecordDate: |
1999 and November 2008 |
Biréli Lagrène first made an impact on the jazz scene when he was 13, releasing Routes to Django: Live in 1980. If at that time he seemed like a Reinhardt reincarnation, he's since broadened his approach and appeal, not least by recording two highly popular pared-down albums with fellow French guitarist Sylvain Luc: Duet (2000) and Summertime (2009). The aptly titled Best Moments brings together the stand out cuts from those releases. The formula is a simple but effective one: take a well-known pop tune or jazz standard – ‘Isn't She Lovely’, ‘Can't Take My Eyes Off You’ and ‘Time After Time’, Jobim's ‘Wave’, Miles’ ‘So What’ – and give it an acoustic, subtly swinging make-under. Three originals offer a modest variation: Lagrène's ‘Made in France’ is (perhaps unsurprisingly) Django-esque. The interplay is exquisite, with the defiantly pleasant interpretations enlivened by percussive pattings and occasional fretboard explosions. Definitely not radical, it's nonetheless profoundly musical and smoothly uplifting.
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