"Amazon has a strange way of listing this album. It looks like there are two CDs with the same tracks. Nope. It's MUCH better than that. Disc One is a CD; Disc Two is a DVD. And it's great!
I first hear pianist Lynne Arriale about 4 years ago at 11am in the morning while attending an Arts Presenters conference. The sound of her, and her trio, drifted out the door of the small meeting room where they were playing and dragged me in. I stayed for the rest of the set and was hooked.
I love Lynne's Come Together Audio CD and was looking forward to this new package so I could SEE the trip play again. It certainly met my expectations and MORE!
The 60-minute audio CD contains nine of the 10 songs she, and her trio performed in 2005 in Germany. The DVD adds one more song and runs nearly 85 minutes. But that's not all. The DVD contains an interesting 25-minute profile on Lynne, made for a Public TV station and another 15-minutes of Interview footage recorded during the group's Germany tour.
The music consists of "covers" like The Beatle's "Come Together" and the New Orleans standard "Iko Iko" (both given new interpretations. "Home", one of Arriale's originals, is my favorite. The sound is comforting and reassuring. This is followed by another Arriale-penned piece, "Braziliana", taking the mood in another direction.
So for the price of little more than an audio CD you've got an additional 2 hours of entertainment and can actually see Arriale connect and communicate with drummer Steve Davis and Bassist Jay Anderson.
I'm so glad I found this artist. She easily bridges the gap between straight ahead jazz and classy improvisation. Highly recommended!
Steve Ramm "Anything Phonographic"
"
"You Are There!"
Dr. Debra Jan Bibel | Oakland, CA USA | 11/29/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The CD version is nice because of its being a live recording of her recent material, but the DVD is a treasure. It is a well directed, multi-camera presentation that takes you into the recital hall so intimately that you feel more at being a small jazz club, much like I experienced when I saw her trio at Oakland and in San Franicsco. The PBS program is OK, with more music, but real insight came with the interview, wherein she answered some personal questions of life and her take on the music. That you can receive both discs for a slight increase in price of the usual independent jazz or classical CD is a deal you should not pass up. And a word about her drummer, Davis: he plays percussion like a melody instrument in perfect sync with the piano. Indeed, this trio is so synergistic that it is a wonder to behold."
Take note/brilliant musicianship
Maxmike | West Chester, PA USA | 03/08/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"For some reason, Lynne Arriale and her trio were completely off my rather well-honed jazz radar screen. That has been rectified after purchasing this combination DVD/CD that ranks as one of my best purchases on Amazon. I was compelled to buy this after hearing her deliberate, stacatto treatment of the old New Orleans favorite, "Iko Iko", on public jazz radio in Philadelphia. It is a rendition that you will not forget. "Alone together" is an uptempo jazz standard that settles into a funky groove that is highlighted by Steve Davis' striking hand solo on the drums. A word about two of Lynne original compositions. "Home" is a beautifully crafted melody. On this and "Arise", an intensely moving ballad she wrote after the World Trade Center attacks, Arriale displays an emotional depth that is unrivalled. Don't think I am trying to pigeon-hole her into ballad corner, she does uptempo and brazilian music just as well. This is one of the finest jazz trios working today. All this brilliant music on CD and DVD-a screaming value for all jazz lovers."
Top Notch DVD and CD of a Jazz Trio Concert
Robert Wade Cottingham | Dallas, TX | 01/06/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Briefly, this DVD + CD package provides a great recording of a great jazz trio concert. Lynne Arriale plays a LOT like Keith Jarrett. Very beautiful playing. I'll subtract 1/3 of a star for the fact that the DVD, like many so many piano DVD's I've seen, presents the picture and the audio slightly out of sync. On this DVD, the sound plays a fraction ahead of the visuals. I have enjoyed this set!"