*** RON CARTER, “Brandenburg Concerto,” Blue Note

The reinterpretation of classical pieces by jazz musicians may have started as a kind of curious novelty, but it’s now beginning to have the look of a definite trend. Eddie Daniels has put his own spin on Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” by performing the solo violin passages on clarinet. Marcus Roberts has added improvisation and swing to Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.” Bobby McFerrin and Chick Corea have stretched a few Mozart piano concertos to include voice and piano introductions and improvised cadenzas.

And now, bassist Ron Carter, with an 18-piece string ensemble, takes on Bach’s “Brandenburg” Concerto No. 3, Ravel’s “Pavane pour une infante defunte,” as well as pieces by Bartok, Grieg and Handel. It’s an ambitious task, but one well within Carter’s creative range. And it’s not the first time he has dealt with the classical repertoire: In 1992, his “Ron Carter Meets Bach” (Blue Note) revealed both his affection for and his understanding of baroque music.

Still, a program ranging in style from the 18th century to the 20th century is a demanding proposition, even for an artist with Carter’s skills. It also raises the question of which classical works can best tolerate the kind of rhythmic and harmonic revisions necessary to interface with an improvisationally based jazz player.

The album’s spotlight piece, for example, the “Brandenburg” No. 3, is a contrapuntal work whose rhythmic foundation is solid and foursquare, not all that far removed from the steady, repetitious baroque rhythmic style sometimes referred to as “knitting machine” music. Carter deals with the work by moving freely through its textures, a kind of dark, shadowy musical wraith slipping in and out of sync with the music.

Occasionally, he attempts to offset the regularity of the rhythms by inserting syncopated passages or doubling the meter of his solos. Tastefully as his soloing is done, however, it never quite seems to integrate into the orchestral music. More to the point, it doesn’t do much to offer a new perspective upon a very familiar work.

Bartok and Ravel would appear to be more appropriate choices for Carter’s jazz transformations. And, for the most part, they are. Ravel’s “Pavane,” for example, benefits from the swinging presence of pianist Stephen Scott, as well as Carter’s rich string scoring and superb soloing. Bartok’s “Joc cu Batau” (Stick Dance) is a folk-dance-based work from a set of five Romanian dances originally composed for piano (and later arranged for orchestra, violin and piano). Carter’s version retains the rich folk essence of the original, contrasting it with a set of loose, free-flowing improvisations.

A Grieg aria from the “Holberg” Suite and the love song from Handel’s “Xerxes” known as “Handel’s Largo” are done with considerable dedication to the originals, positioning Carter’s lovely piccolo bass as the primary melodic instrument.

But the album’s most intriguing work is Carter’s own “Vientos del Desierto,” a pensive work filled with lovely, Spanish-tinged themes and sudden acerbic dissonances--a stimulating musical setting for his roving bass lines.

Small carps aside, this is an eminently listenable collection. Carter’s good taste never allows him to do anything that either distorts the original works or his own spontaneous ideas.

*

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