Flynn, George
Southport, 2014, CD
Instrument: Piano
Issue: 21.3
Jazz Ruler Type: Pop+Jazz
Performance: 3
Sound: 4
Score: 
O’s Notes: It has taken us some time and repeated listening to comment on Dual Visions, an opera of sorts. They are contrasting commentaries each deploying a premier vocalist against a musical backdrop. Songs of Destruction, the first CD features soprano Leila Bowie with George Flynn (p) and Mark Baldwin (t) supporting a rather disturbing reality, the invasion of Vietnam and demise of Native Americans. Sadly the latter are still referred to as American Indians in the text. Vision and Prayer is the theme of the second disc featuring mezzo-soprano Julia Bentley in front of the DePaul University Ensemble conducted by Michael Lewanski. The poems are performed in a diamond shaped strophe starting with one syllable, tempo and associated instrument and increasing to nine syllables before reversing the trend to one syllable again. The content here is somewhat Biblical involving creation, recreation, salvation and darkness. While there is a wealth of artistry displayed, it is outside of our critical scope.
Publicist: Southport Records (Chicago Sound)
