Jacques Loussier - Siciliano in G Minor (J.S. Bach)
From the album "The Very best of Play Bach" (2000)
Label: BMG MusicJacques Loussier's website: loussier.com
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Jacques Loussier is commonly referred to as the “unclassifiable” musician of his generation, such has been the variety and unexpectedness of the paths along which he has built his musical career. There is no denying that Jacques Loussier always seems to appear where you least expect him. Famous world-wide for his jazz adaptations of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach he has also played with the greatest variety acts and composed more than a hundred scores for cinema and television.
When Jacques Loussier presented his jazzy version of Bach with his PLAY BACH in 1959, not even his producer at Decca Records expected that a million copies of the five albums would be sold by 1965. In Paris, London, Berlin, Tokyo, Sydney and New York, Jacques Loussier polarised as well as unified the classical and the jazz worlds. Called a pioneer and even “the grandfather” of crossover, Loussier’s tasteful work was acknowledged by Glenn Gould: “Play Bach is a good way to play Bach”.
Siciliano in G Minor is Bach played as jazz – the Jacques Loussier versions are for many people in Hi-Fi “classic” demo tracks, but this particular performance is so well recorded that we couldn’t resist presenting it on DALI CD 4. It is a naked and unpolished recording that at the same time sounds like a master recording. The bass and the piano are in focus with a very wide musical dynamic range. When listening to the track you simply never get bored. The music continues, musically and technically, to evolve throughout the entire performance.
