Dirie / Ross - Concertante [2 CD]

While New Zealand guitarist and composer Campbell Ross cites influences as varied as Claude Bolling, Manuel Ponce and Benjamin Britten when discussing the works featured on Concertante, it is clear that his own distinctive style is manifested throughout the album. The first of Concertante's Modern Works For Guitar opens with the three-movement Concertante for guitar, jazz trio and strings - a work that allows all of the album's performers to be featured as soloists. It's kaleidoscopic first movement reveals elements of Latin, Blues, Jazz, and Classical genres that, when combined with the Spanish touches in the final movement, encompass the major musical styles that have influenced Ross over the past 30 years. The two sets of Variations on the album reflect his life-long admiration for the McCartney/Lennon oeuvre. While playing homage to "Norwegian Wood" and "World Without Love," both pieces fall more to the improvisatory end of the compositional scale. The second portion of the release, which features works written by Gerardo and Ariel Dirié, is filled with modern guitar works that have never before been recorded. Ross first presents a series of pieces written by Ariel Dirié, who passed in 2010, leaving behind a collection of works, some of which are light and some of which are dark, some playful and some serious. The final three works on the album form a triptych, Si un dia el Olvido (If one day oblivion...), which "gather different evocations of time." Concertante reflects both the interpretive and written skills of Ross, who performs each piece with equal parts energy and sensitivity.