Everybody's Dummy, February 9, 2009

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Everybody's Dummy

Blogs

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My Flame Burns Blue / Piano Jazz

Elvis Costello

Wardo

Elvis Costello 24:
Elvis Costello & Metropole Orkest,  My Flame Burns Blue  (2006)  2½ star (of 5) reviews2½ star (of 5) reviews2½ star (of 5) reviews2½ star (of 5) reviews2½ star (of 5) reviews
Elvis Costello & Marian McPartland,  Piano Jazz  (2005)  3½ star (of 5) reviews3½ star (of 5) reviews3½ star (of 5) reviews3½ star (of 5) reviews3½ star (of 5) reviews

Despite the moderate success of both his new work and the back catalog, the ever-contrarian Costello insisted on releasing albums that showed off his talents in genres outside those which had brought him notoriety. Only the faithful had purchased Il Sogno, the score for a ballet based on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, released the same day as The Delivery Man. Perhaps because of the lack of interest, a "suite" of music from the recording was a bonus disc added to My Flame Burns Blue, which collected various highlights from a pair of shows recorded in 2004 at a Netherlands jazz festival with a large orchestra. These concerts featured new arrangements of older songs along with some neo-jazz-cum-classical pieces he'd rarely been able to perform without such a big ensemble behind him.

The selections are a little jarring. "Favourite Hour" and "Almost Blue" benefit from full arrangements, but the evil circus vibe of "Clubland" kills the mood. His commissioned lyrics for melodies by the likes of Mingus and Strayhorn may spark heretofore untapped interest in those composers. And of course, there's yet another version of "Watching The Detectives" to add to the pile.

Infinitely more enjoyable is Piano Jazz, which documents his appearance on Marian McPartland's popular NPR show a year earlier. The two disparate performers discuss old songs — and some of Elvis's — in between performing them, and the mutual respect comes through the speakers clearly. A few of the standards will be familiar to fans who'd already indulged in various reissues, and these versions are surprisingly welcome to the canon.


Tags: My Flame Burns BluePiano JazzMetropole OrkestMarian McPartlandIl SognoWilliam ShakespeareA Midsummer Night's DreamThe Delivery ManFavourite HourAlmost Blue (song)ClublandCharles MingusBilly StrayhornWatching The Detectives

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Everybody's Dummy, February 9, 2009


Wardo reviews My Flame Burns Blue and Piano Jazz.

Images

My Flame Burns Blue, 2006

Piano Jazz: Costello/McPartland, 2005

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