Benoit Dunoyer De Segonzac, Andre Arpino, Jacques Loussier, Jacques Loussier Trio, Erik Satie - Satie: Gymnopedies Gnossiennes / Jacques Loussier Trio
Band: Benoit Dunoyer De Segonzac, Andre Arpino, Jacques Loussier, Jacques Loussier Trio, Erik Satie Title: Satie: Gymnopedies Gnossiennes / Jacques Loussier Trio Rating: Release Date: 26 May, 1998 Media: Audio CD
Tracks: 1: Gymnopedie No.1 / Var. 1 2: Gymnopedie No. 1 / Var. 2 3: Gnossienne No. 3 4: Gnossienne No. 6 5: Gnossienne No. 2 6: Gnossienne No. 1 / Var. 3 7: Gnossienne No. 4 8: Gnossienne No. 5 9: Gymnopedie No. 1 / Var. 4 10: Gnossienne No. 1 11: Pas A Pas
Customer Reviews graceful and mature rendering Loussier and Trio play with respect and great wit. One can easily expect jazz interpretations of classical music to be dreadful (similarly, operatic divas singing jazz) but J. For a true pleasure, I recommend his take on Debussy.
Be transported
"Satie: Gymnopedies/Gnossiennes" is haunting and atmospheric musical poetry and, I think, superior to their other attempts at integrating classical and jazz into one musical statement. In my opinion, the Jacques Loussier Trio is best at interpreting classic Impressionist masterworks. The entire CD reminds me of the musical equivalent of J. M. W. Turner's Venetian watercolours. Stunning! Also, check out "JLT Plays Debussy".
Jacques Loussier Trio's "Satie" takes the listener on a trip. Gnossienne No. 4 is especially effective in transporting the listener to a quiet "cinema noir" oasis full of intrigue. This jazz trio's technique lends itself much better to interpretations of delicate impressionist masterworks rather than to classic baroque. This is NOT smooth jazz but each piece is "fluid" or "atmospheric", just as Satie would have wanted it! The haunting sound is perfect- translucent as any mountain lake. In my opinion, this is Loussier's best disc and rates as one of the top discs in the classical-jazz hybrid genre, "Third Stream".
Satie with a Twist! So to pass a lazy afternoon, I went searching for as many versions of them as possible. I have long considered Satie's Gnossienne to be some of the most emotionally touching and versatile pieces in music. I found everything from guitar to harp to dancefloor remixes. But there was one interpretation that stood out from all of them: the Jacques Loussier Trio interpretations.
First, I disagree vehemently with what one can only describe as the dense and snobbish two star review below. Satie's music is not degraded here; it is simply reinterpreted into a new genre. But my ears (nor those of any other reviewer, it seems) detect any degredation or "dumbing down" of Satie. Rather, the Loussier Trio handle Satie's delicate pieces with all the care they deserve. They do well at playing minimalistically, using no more notes than are necessary. I can't help but think that this is the way Satie would have wanted it, as his compositions cry out for exactly that style.
While there are a few question marks on the CD (for instance, trying to fit a 3/4 Gymnopedie into 4/4)even the weaker tracks (relatively speaking) are worth a good listen. The Gnossienne (particularly the first four) take the cake, though!
A brief descriptive note before I leave you to buy the CD. Any lover of the "new" European (particularly Nordic) jazz, such as the Esbjorn Svensson trio, or the Tord Gustavsen trio, will UNQUESTIONABLY love the Jacques Loussier trio. Loussier has mastered the type of sparse and dark sound achieved by the said trios.
