In Full Swing
In Full Swingis Mark O'Connor's tribute toStephane Grappelli, the musician he describes as "my biggest violin hero." His band, the Hot Swing Trio, features bassist Jon Burr, who toured with Grappelli for years, and guitaristFrank Vignola, one of the finest American players in the Django Reinhardt tradition. Even though the selections include standards that Grappelli played during the 1930s with Reinhardt (such as "Lime House Blues" and "Honeysuckle Rose"), the music is far more than just a nostalgic recreation of the famous Hot Club sound. Instead, O'Connor and his bandmates have filtered musical elements from the past through a contemporary rhythmic and harmonic sensibility to come up with a style that sounds both timely and timeless. The trio is joined on a few tracks by singerJane Monheit, who delivers a particularly moving rendition of "As Time Goes By," and by trumpeterWynton Marsalis, who plays a delightfully abstract duet with O'Connor on the intro to "Tiger Rag." All of the musicians here are at the top of their game, but O'Connor's playing, which blends his formidable technique with deep emotion, is particularly fine. Stephane would be proud.--Michael Simmons