French jazz pianist, arranger, and composer, Claude Bolling, has produced a number of collaborative efforts combining, jazz, pop, and classical music, to create his own version of avant garde jazz. In his 1981 collaboration Toot Suite, Bolling is joined by Maurice Andre', a French trumpeter who rose to international prominence in the 1960's and '70's, with a series of Baroque works on piccolo trumpet. He is featured on this recording, on trumpet, coronet, and flugelhorn. Other members of the quartet include Guy Pedersen on string bass and Daniel Humair on drums, in this lighthearted recording of semi-classical chamber music. The suite consists of six movements, each showcasing Andre's versatility with the trumpet.

The first movement, Allegre, (6:23) was written for the classical C trumpet. It features a lively waltz style melody and a choppy rhythm, for a spirited introduction to the following piece, Mystique, (7:49) a slower paced, Baroque style number, with a haunting melody and a soft piano counterpoint to Andre's crisp trumpet lines. It changes tempo about halfway through, with an elegant piano solo, returning in the end, to a softer theme.

The next piece, Rag-Polka, (3:23) a popular theme in early 20th century Germany and France, is a hybrid of sorts, combining the jaunty rag-time piano with a danceable polka rhythm, featuring Andre' on the B Flat coronet, in this up-tempo tune. This piece may come across with a bit of too much contrived "cuteness" for some listeners. In Marche, (6:40) the B Flat piccolo trumpet, after a brassy introduction, turns into a breezy jazz march, with zesty piano accents and majestic trumpet variations.

The following piece, Vesperale, (7:11) features Andre' on the B Flat flugelhorn, with a richer, mellower, sound, adding depth to this slower paced, mid-tempo, beautifully haunting melody. The final piece, Spirituelle, (6:04) demonstrates Andre's mastery of the B Flat piccolo trumpet, in a bouncy, up-tempo, piece with alternating bold trumpet lines, and Bolling's tumbling piano runs.

Bolling, who has sometimes been referred to as "The French Gershwin," is known for his creatively "arsty" album covers, anthropomorphizing musical instruments. The colorful album cover for this recording, depicts a string bass and trumpet swiftly serving up notes to a piano seated at an elegant dining table, with a drum set in the background; symbolizing the dynamic fusion of the jazz and classical motifs in this fine collection. I found the music on this recording, however, to be a bit too formulaic for my taste. I did not find it quite as fluid and entertaining as Bolling Suite for Chamber Orchestra, featuring the English Chamber Orchestra. Still it's brisk pace and creative arrangements, result in an interesting fusion of two seemingly disparate genres; classical and jazz music.

This is a contribution to epinions member Ifif1938's French/English W/O

Related Reviews:

Bolling Suite for Cello & Jazz Piano Trio

Bolling Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano No 2



Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Waking up