... CLASSICAL SPIRIT Jacques Loussier, still going strong after 30 years, branches out from Bach with his arresting version of Ravel's Bolero (Telarc CD-83466), together with a classically inspired suite of his own, Nympheas. un me wono music rroni there are two interesting discs. Barachote paid their first visit to Britain earlier this year, a quartet from Prince Edward Island, off Canada's east ...

... Disc Data Nothin' But the Blues Joe Williams I (DMSDelosDMS4001) The first jazz album from a distinguished American classical label brings the welcome return of Joe Williams, a vocalist who caught public attention in the sixties with his work for Count Basie but who is unaccountably ignored in some of the reference books. This could be because he is someone who sings the blues rather than a ...

... A captivating vocal attack OPERA NORTH The Capture of Troy BERLIOZ's epic masterpiece, The Trojans, is so infrequently performed that attending a production inevitably generates mixed feelings of anticipation and apprehension. Opera North's version of the first two acts, The Capture of Troy, triumphantly sweeps aside all doubts. It is magnificent. Daringly simple Expressionist de signs ...

... It is as if the Bevs have never been away Death, Glory and Retribution (Capitol EG 26 0574 I) This Alan Warner compilation goes graverobbing among discs which one would have thought were safely laid to rest, though some have a social and political relevance, particularly those inspired by the Vietnam war, like bob Gibson's moving version of the John Prine song Sam Stone, Glen Campbell's ...

... Disc Data The Mikado--English National Opera (That's Entertainment TER 1121) Though labelled as highlights, this is an exceptionally generous selection from Jonathan Miller's highly successful production for the ENO of Gilbert and Sullivan's best-loved opera. Those who have not seen it will have to take the novelty elements, mainly the setting of a grand hotel in the twenties, for granted, ...

... COWARD RARITIES On Volume 2 (PPCD 78141), the standout item is a Noel Coward rarity, a medley of his songs he recorded in New York with Leo Reisman's Orchestra in 1933. Many of those on Volume 1 reappear, including Gertrude Lawrence, this time with The Saga of Jenny, saxophonist Freddy Gardner, Carroll Gibbons and his Boyfriends, the Quintet of the Hot Club of France, with Reinhardt and ...

... STANDARD ISSUE Very unusual is Tim Whitehead's Personal Standards album (Home Grown HMR 047), on which this highly-regarded saxo phonist uses contemporary songs as the basis for exciting improvi sations. Material like My Heart Will Go On, Lovely Day and My Girl proves to be worth exploring. Equally interesting is the Village Life album Bubbling Under (98116 VL), in which a jazz trio featuring ...

... Music off Pat Pat Kirkwood has a better claim than many to be called Miss Showbusiness -- the title of a very interesting CD and tape from Blue Silver Entertainment (BSLV1). It coincides with her recently- published autobiography, and compiler Hugh Palmer deserves much credit for unearthing material unheard for many years her first recordings as a teenager with Jack Hylton's band, a couple of ...

... In good hands It seems hard to believe that it was 30 years ago when Syd Lawrence first formed his orchestra in Manchester. It was originally intended to be just a 'rehearsal' band, playing one night a week and giving a chance for musicians to play the type of big band music they really enjoyed. After a couple of changes of venue, the band moved to an upstairs room in the Mersey Hotel. One ...

... History notes Two things strike me about John Chilton's splendid Who's Who in British Jazz, which was published at the end of last year just too late for inclusion in the 1996 feature. One is that it is a glorious nostalgia trip for those of us who spent many a night in our youth vis iting jazz clubs, both of the modem and traditional vari ety. The other is to discover that jazz is not ...

... A couple of Sheilas Peter Hepple enjoys a slice of jazz at home, thanks to a book and new CD releases On my desk a few weeks ago arrived two CDs from female singers whose names I have noticed on the jazz circuit listings, Trudy Kerr and Anita Wardell. Both, as it happened, were on the same FMR label. I played Warden's first, Why Do You Cry?, a truly solo effort, backed only by the dazzling ...

... The Jazzman--Nat King Cole Topaz TPZ 1012 To the older among us Nat 'King' Cole is associated more with the swingy items gathered together on this set than the lush ballads in which he specialised from the fifties onwards. This was the Cole of the King Cole Trio, completed by Oscar Moore (guitar) and Wesley Prince. later Johnny Miller, on bass, who gained their collective reputation in Los ...