Loussier plays Schumann
I'm not going to embark on the old and worn-out philosophical debate on "entertaining Bach" triggered by Jacques Loussier himself already a half a century ago. If we accept his - and Glenn Gould's - intuitive premise that "nobody swings like Bach", we accept by the same token the results, and have no problem with Loussier's ongoing commitment to infusing classical music with elements of the jazz.
Of course, it isn't trouble-free to do these connections, as Loussier does in his latest recording of Schumann's "Kinderszenen", in which he puts in the same basket the playful and carefree time of childhood, the subject of the Schumann's songs, and jazz as "the most imaginative and carefree kind of music ever composed". Well, is this particular work by Schumann ideal for reinterpretation in a jazz setting, as Loussier claims? To my ears it isn't any more or less ideal than music by Debussy, Satie, Ravel, Vivaldi or other composers whom Loussier has been working on. If one likes the latter, one likes this one too. After all, this is not meant to be dead serious or rigorous music. It's meant to be entertaining and listened to with a smiling face.
There's only one question to be addressed: does this redord leave the same lasting impression than once did the recordings by Loussier's first or second Play Bach Trio. I'd say no but that may equally be due to me (not getting younger) rather than the properties of the record itself. Perhaps the worst enemy of present Loussier is early Loussier himself. History burdens and obliges. If there's going to be only one Loussier disc in the shelf, I'd say it's still one of his trio's Bach interpretations. Loussier followers will no doubt get holf of this disc. Friends of the Modern Jazz Quartet will like it too.
On this album, the percussionist Andre Arpino played already in Loussier's second Bach trio, and even the bassist Benoit Dunoyer de Segonzac has performed in his group since the late 1990s. The sound quality of this Telarc disc is of high quality but not extraordinary in the context of Loussier recordings.