Repost from 2014

A month or so ago, I explored the “cover songs” side of alt classical music, a genre that combines the pleasures of classical music with the vitality of more modern forms. This month, I want to take a look at another side of alt-classical, this time exploring artists who have brought a jazz sensibility to some of the great compositions of all time.

Again, this is easy to do badly, but hard to do well. I present here only songs where I feel the artist has been true to the original composition while simultaneously creating something exciting and new.

First up, jazz violinist Christian Howes takes on Bach with the help of a righteous loop pedal:

Barbara Dennerlein flaunts her styles on a Hammond B3.

The luminous Regina Carter performs Faure on a Stradivarius.

Matt Herskowitz reinvents Bach (live, below, and top, on the soundtrack from Triplets of Belleville).

• Alt Classical: The Innovators
• Alt Classical: The Jazz Connection
• Alt Classical: Cover Tunes
• Nina Simone invents alt-Classical
• Alt Classical: Coy Dog Waltz (New Original Music)
• Alt-Classical: “Drunken Drive” (New Original Music)