Echoes of Swing - Winter Days at Schloss Elmau

The Guardian 80

(ACT)

If you’re looking for a seasonal album with a touch of class, this is it. Echoes of Swing are a quartet who take delight in exploring new approaches to classic jazz styles. The results are unfailingly witty, affectionate and faultlessly played. They are based in Germany, have been together for more than 20 years and have a keen following in Europe. This time, to their trumpet, alto saxophone, piano and drums they have added double bass, guitar and, most importantly, the voice of American vocalist Rebecca Kilgore.

The programme, with a winter theme, is a mixture of old favourites, such as Winter Wonderland (disconcertingly recast in 5/4 time), settings of poems (Robert Frost, Emily Brontë, Shakespeare), some originals and a few rarities by Antônio Carlos Jobim, Burt Bacharach and others. The arrangements are imaginative, the solos brief and to the point, and Kilgore handles a bewildering variety of material with impressive poise. It adds up to a delightful 50-odd minutes, and you don’t have to be a jazz buff to enjoy it, just reasonably musical. Schloss Elmau, by the way, is a spa and “cultural hideaway” in the Bavarian Alps.