John Lewis : J. S. Bach, preludes & fugues : Vol.4

John Lewis, piano Howard Collins, guitar Marc Johnson, bass Robert Dan, viola (2,10) Anahid Ajemian, violin (2,6,8,12,14) 1 Prelude 03:52 2 Fugue 08:04 jump to: 3:53 3 Prelude 01:53 jump to: 12:05 4 Fugue 04:20 jump to: 14:00 5 Prelude 02:17 jump to: 18:35 6 Fugue 03:39 jump to: 21:00 7 Prelude 02:49 jump to: 24:25 8 Fugue 03:34 jump to: 27:30 9 Prelude 02:15 jump to: 31:15 10 Fugue 07:08 jump to: 33:25 11 Prelude 03:03 jump to: 40:45 12 Fugue 04:23 jump to: 43:45 13 Prelude 07:19 jump to: 48:12 14 Fugue 08:22 jump to: 55:42 Classical and known composition of course, but this is not classical music. This is jazz, or may be better to call it third stream, a cross-over between classical music and jazz. Jazzing the classics is something that has been done many times but it’s really amazing how Lewis built his astonishing rendition around, and inside, the Well Tempered Clavier. He subtitled the work « The Bridge Game ». The most disconcerting version I ever heard. Much better than the K. Jarret’s ridiculous one using a harpsichord. I don’t really care about J. Pareles ( N.Y. Times) sending flowers to Jarret ( the media darling) and trying to destroy Lewis’ work. For my own taste, this is a stylish and technical exploit. Just sayin’.