Catalogue

Summary:

“Marimba, clarinet, bandoneon and bass looks odd on paper, but it works, helped by lively and eloquent playing. Ravel’s Pavane arranged for clarinet and marimba is an unexpected joy.” ★★★★ BBC Music Magazine

Clarinet legend Richard Stoltzman and virtuoso marimbist Mika Stoltzman arrive on AVIE with a stunning collection of works in which the duo finds freedom in music of the past and equally breaks through boundaries with new arrangements and commissions. John Zorn’s title track, Palimpsest, written in 2018 for Richard’s 75th birthday, sets the tone, evoking layers of tradition and innovation. Richard’s lifelong friendship with William Thomas McKinley led to the jazzy collection Mostly Blues, three of which are performed on this album. The musical meat of the album are the couple’s own arrangements of monumental works by Johann Sebastian Bach – Mika’s solo marimba take on the Chaconne from Partita in D minor originally for solo violin, and Richard’s colourful Chromatic Fantasia for solo clarinet and Fugue, BWV 903 bringing him together with marimba and bandoneon. The versatile Mika, who has collaborated with such musicians as Chick Corea, Eddie Gomez and Steve Gadd, also provides a jazz-tinged duo arrangement of Maurice Ravel’s Pavane pour une infante défunte, and the album takes a side trip to the Argentinian world of Astor Piazzolla with a solo clarinet version of the composer’s Etude No. 5, and the full complement of musicians coming together for Fuga y misterio.

Tracklist:

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685–1750)
1. Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue, BWV 903 (arr. clarinet, marimba and bandoneon) (15.51)
2. Chaconne from Partita in D minor for solo violin, BWV 1004 (arr. for solo marimba) (16.51)

MAURICE RAVEL (1875–1937)
3. Pavane pour une infante défunte (arr. for clarinet and marimba) (6.47)

WILLIAM THOMAS McKINLEY (1938–2015)
4. Mostly Blues Nos. 2, 8 & 12 (for clarinet and marimba) (6.10)

JOHN ZORN (b. 1953)
5. Palimpsest (for clarinet and marimba) (4.44)

ASTOR PIAZZOLLA (1921–1992)
6.  Tango–Étude No. 5 (arr. for solo clarinet) (2.30)
7. Fuga y misterio (arr. for clarinet, marimba, bandoneon and bass) (6.10)

Total duration: 59.04