Jacques Loussier: Concerto for Piano Quartet "Playades"

Filmed at Munich’s Klaviersommer in 1993, this concert finds Jacques Loussier bringing his trademark blend of jazz and classical style to his concerto for piano quartet and orchestra "Playades". With Jean Virot, Vincent Charbonnier and André Arpino alongside the Münchner Symphoniker under Jean-Pierre Wallez, Loussier moves easily between written score and improvisatory flair, setting crisp rhythmic grooves against orchestral colour. It’s music that wears its influences lightly, shaped as much by swing and spontaneity as by classical form, and delivered here with the easy assurance of a group long attuned to one another.