Jacques Loussier - Plays Bach Encore! (2007)

In 1959, the French born pianist hit upon a bold and brilliant musical idea that was to forge his international reputation: creating a musical hybrid that blended his love of jazz with his vast appreciation for J.S. Bach. He founded the Play Bach Trio, which used Bach's compositions as the basis for jazz improvisation. The trio immediately caught the public's attention, staying together for 15 years, touring and recording albums that sold over 15 million units. Most of these discs built upon the cornerstone that the trio created on the four albums it recorded for Decca in the early '60s. The original trio broke up in the late '70s, but Jacques Loussier came back with a new lineup in the mid-'80s that has remained active well into the 2000s. Originally recorded in the early '90s, this two-disc set spotlights Loussier's strengths as a jazz innovator as he swirls groove and improvisational magic around Bach's "Concerto in F Minor," "Concerto C Minor," and "Partita" in B flat major on disc one, and as a classical composer leading the Prague Kammer Orchestra through his own beautiful, dramatic, pure classical works "Concerto for Violin and Percussion" and "Trumpet Concerto" on disc two. While most of Loussier's works are inspired by the European classical and American jazz traditions, "Prague" (part of the violin and percussion concerto) has a distinctive flair for Brazilian music and tango. Disc one was recorded in Miraval France in 1991, while disc two was tracked at Czech Radio Studio One in 1992. This is a brilliant snapshot from the pianist/composer's most prolific period.