Los Angeles Guitar Quartet - Labyrinth (1995)

Not my favorite LAGQ CD. The performances are brilliant, as always, but the selection of works is weak and disjointed. Of the 9 works here, 5 are original works, then there's some Aaron Copland, Count Basie, and John Philip Sousa. You get the point. Taken by themselves, most of the pieces are enjoyable, but they don't make a very coherent album although I imagine it would make for a very entertaining live show. That's the risk you run with a crossover group. Here's what group member/composer Andrew York says about the album on his website:

Labyrinth was potentially one of the most interesting CDs we had conceived. Unfortunately, the mix of music was too eclectic and did not blend well, making for a scattered listening experience, even though there was some very creative music on this disc by a number of excellent composers.

Tracks: Of the original pieces, I like the first track, Quiccan. The Ian Krouse piece, Labyrinth (on a theme of Led Zeppelin), would probably be interesting to analyze, but isn't the most interesting thing to listen to. That could be because I'm not really wild about Zeppelin. Labyrinth is actually an appropriate title since it meanders for about 20 minutes.

Of the transcriptions, the Basie number, Jumpin' At The Woodside is always a treat, no matter the instrumentation. I had high hopes for the transcription of Sousa's Black Horse Troop, but meh.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None.

Previously revisited for the blog:
For Thy Pleasure (1996)
Evening in Granada (1993)

Los Angeles Guitar Quartet - Evening in Granada (1993)

Spanish music is well-suited to this group. What makes this release interesting is that, of the five composers presented here, only one is actually Spanish. The others come from Italy, Russia, the US, and France. The playing here is top notch and the arrangments, for the most part, are very good. My main complaint here is simply that the music selected doesn't always fit inside the concept of a Spanish music CD. As group member Andrew York states, "Such is the reality of making artistic decision by committee." They might have been better off looking at works by Albéniz or Torroba. Bottom line: clean playing of wannabe Spanish music.

Tracks: The better selections here are the Introduction And Fandango by Boccherini and the arrangement of Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccoi Espagnol. The original piece premiered here, Folias by American composer Ian Krouse, is a pseudo-rondo that has some interesting turns, but is so fragmented that I find it hard to listen to. Just when the piece settles into a nice section, it is interrupted by some needless contemporary compositional techniques. As a result, the whole CD suffers programmatically.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
For Thy Pleasure (1996)

Los Angeles Guitar Quartet - For Thy Pleasure (1996)

This CD contains some very nice transcriptions of Baroque music, mostly Bach. The quartet is very talented and know how to choose and transcribe music that suits their strengths as performers. Because of the nature of the instrument, the quartet struggles with slower pieces because the guitar simply can't sustain the sound in the way of an organ or wind instrument (or could an organ be considered a wind instrument? I'll leave that debate for other people at another time).

Tracks: The Brandenberg Concerti transcriptions are top notch, as is the Telemann. They end the disc with a tongue-in-cheek rendition of Pachabel's Canon with variations in styles derivative of calypso, salsa, bluegrass, funk, straight-ahead jazz, and flamenco. Very creative and enjoyable. I'm sure it's a hit at their concerts.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: In the mid to late 90s, when I was artistic director for a local arts presenting organization, I would receive promotional materials from many acts. I always looked forward to getting LAGQ CDs in the mailbox because they would always send full CDs, not abridged promotional recordings.