Louis Van Dyke - Louis Van Dyke Plays Lennon-McCartney (1970) [2014 Japan Jazz Collection 1000] CD-Rip

Reissue with the latest 2014 DSD remastering. Comes with liner notes. I first became aware of Louis Van Dyke on the "Fond Memories of Frank Rosolino" CD and it became apparent that here was a creative mind with impeccable jazz abilities who was able to play into the sound of whatever environment he chose. This recording could be by a very different musician than heard on the Rosolino album as Van Dyke is able to switch hats and maintain the integrity of whichever he is wearing at the time.

What we have here is unusual to say the least: 9 songs by the Beatles performed in 1970 on the Flentrop Organ in the Netherlands Reformed Chuch at Loenen a.d. Vecht. The opening medley "Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight", sets the tone for what is to follow: a beautiful arrangement, reminiscent of Bach in its external presentation, but never losing the essence of the original melodies and building on them to produce greater emotional weight and beauty as the music unfolds. How this is achieved on a single instrument is a marvel and credit must be given not only to the reverence with which Van Dyke treats his material but how he builds the structural layers of his arrangements to enhance the overall expression.

Some of the registration choices are uncannily apt such as that which begins "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" and it is impossible not to react at the recognition of the melody treated with such carefully selected timbres. This is only part of the actual musical content of the arrangements whose inventiveness is satisfying in each selection. Van Dyke has brought a freshness and even purity without cliches of similar attempts to make popular music sound Classical and vice versa.

Positively memorable and should you find a copy, snap it up.

Tracks:

01 - Golden Slumbers and Carry That Weight
02 - She's Leaving Home
03 - For No One
04 - Eleanor Rigby
05 - Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
06 - Hey Jude
07 - Goodnight
08 - Blackbird
09 - Nowhere Man

Personnel:

Louis Van Dyke at the Flentrop Organ in the Netherlands Reformed Chuch at Loenen a. d. Vechtlo.