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Starting as far back as Duke Ellington, jazz musicians and composers including John Lewis and Cecil Taylor have investigated Western classical music.
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Vancouver guitarist/composer Tony Wilson and his sextet take a robust score by Benjamin Britten and animate it beautifully. The attentive, aggressive drumming of Dylan van der Schyff and Wilson’s own sometimes distorted guitar tones give the arrangements a lively thrust, bringing the music well into the 21st century.
While Britten’s Lachrymae takes up most of this CD, Wilson’s original compositions have clearly been influenced by that work, offering the listener the rare opportunity to understand musical cause and effect.
Top track: Lachrymae Movement #1