Schumann | Kinderszenen (Scenes From Childhood) (2011)

"Over the years, third stream music has been criticized in both the jazz and Euro-classical worlds. Thankfully, Jacques Loussier hasn't paid attention to the naysayers in either the jazz or classical worlds, and after all these years, the French pianist (77 at the time this album was released) is still taking chances. This 2011 release finds Loussier putting his spin on Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood), by German romanticist Robert Schumann (1810-56). Schumann wrote that nostalgic, 13-song work in memory of his childhood. Loussier performs the piece in its entirety, and he approaches it not as European classical music, but as acoustic post-bop jazz. Thankfully, Kinderszenen is appropriate for Loussier, who maintains the 13 songs' nostalgic outlook but does so in a consistently jazz-oriented fashion. Loussier sounds like he is fondly remembering his own childhood. This 49-minute CD is among Loussier's creative successes." (Alex Henderson, Allmusic; 4 uit 5 sterren)