LET’S CATCH UP ON ECM RECORDS…

Gianluigi Trovesi/Gianni Coscia
Frere Jacques: ‘Round About Offenbach
ECM Records
www.ecmrecords.com
By George W. Harris

It’s discs like this that cause me to hang in there with ECM’s
excursions into European folk. Clarinetist Gianluigi Trovesi teams up
with accordionist Gianni Coscia for a tour of the Great Offenbach
Songbook, and it works to Parisian perfection. Can Can classics like
“La Belle Helene” and “La Perichole” have a bohemian and carefree joy
that is infectious. The fact that the music is played by a duo creates
a street musician atmosphere, which adds to the folksy and
Mediterranean ambience. Romantic, playful and yet sophisticated, the
music comes off as a woman who has aged well over the years after
living a full life.