eMusic

Start Your Trial

Music In The Key Of Clark

by

John Hicks

 
  • Pick
Music In The Key Of Clark
view larger image View Larger

Rate it!

Avg: 4.0 (22 ratings)

  • They Say...

    John Hicks' fourth CD in a series honoring pianists and composers who were from the greater Pittsburgh area salutes Sonny Clark, whose contributions have been somewhat overlooked since his premature death in 1963. Joined by bassist Dwayne Burno and drummer Cecil Brooks III, Hicks adds several originals -- which complement but don't attempt to mimic Clark's style -- in addition to his interpretations of Clark's compositions. He adds a lovely introductory original solo piano prelude to precede the easygoing waltz treatment of Clark's "My Conception," while his take of "Cable Car" gives it a Latin flavor. Hicks slows the tempo of Clark's "Minor Meeting" considerably and also winds the piece much tighter, giving it a much darker, bluesy sound than the composer's recordings for Time and Blue Note. Hicks' solo version of "Sonny's Mood" is lush and reflective, while the hard swinging "Sonny's Crib" reveals its roots in gospel music. Hicks, who hung out with Clark, dedicates "Angel With a Briefcase" to the late pianist because of his habit of always carrying one stuffed with manuscripts in progress; this warm solo portrait is followed by Hicks' whimsically titled "Clark Bar Blues," which hard bop fans will no doubt discover to be very tasty. Overall, the desired effect of such a brilliant release is to make one want to obtain earlier CDs by John Hicks and also to look for the original versions by Sonny Clark, if they aren't already in the listener's possession.

  • You Say...

    Write a Review

    I would like to say...

    Artist: John Hicks

    Album: Music In The Key Of Clark

    Review Title: (maximum 50 characters)

    Your Review: (maximum 1,000 characters)

    Cancel

    Please keep your comments to the recordings themselves, and be courteous and respectful. Thanks! For further info, read our Community Guidelines.

The indie iTunes — Hardcore music fans are migrating to eMusic, the iTunes Music Store's cheaper, cooler cousin.


Rolling Stone
Start Your Trial

Recently Viewed

© 1998-2009 eMusic.com Inc. eMusic and the eMusic logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks in the USA or other countries. All rights reserved.

All Music Guide © 1992 - 2009 All Media Guide, LLC
Portions of content provided by All Music Guide, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC

Facebook®, YouTube, Flickr™ and Wikipedia® are registered trademarks of their respective owners, Facebook Inc., Google, Inc., Yahoo! Inc. and Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Neither Facebook Inc., Google, Inc., Yahoo! Inc. nor Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. are partners or sponsors of eMusic. eMusic uses the Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and Wikipedia API but is not endorsed or certified by Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and Wikipedia. eMusic does not pre-screen, monitor, endorse nor assume any liability for websites, contents, products, services or claims made by Facebook, YouTube, Flickr™ and Wikipedia®.