The pianist heard on the newly released 2001 solo recital Fred Hersch Plays Jobim may be the best-known Fred Hersch: a consummate player of lyrical ballads, enriching their melodies and chords in subtle ways. He's a master of singing right-hand lines and impressionist harmonies that recede into the distance. Antonio Carlos Jobim composed classics like "Desafinado," "Corcovado" and "Insensatez" which helped make bossa nova a '60s fad, when he teamed up with saxophonist Stan Getz.… more »
Ran Blake is one mysterioso pianist. His playing smacks of deep, complicated feelings, like melancholy, or nostalgia, where painful longing and sweet remembrance mix. His right hand - could be one finger - might hammer out a melody like a brass bell, choosing notes with a poet's care, while his left hand plumbs the depths, with low dissonant chords made all the more ambiguous via subtle foot pedaling. Other pianists abuse the sustain pedal for… more »
When Jaki Byard was with Charles Mingus in the 1960s, audiences would laugh when, mid-solo, Byard would burst into 1920s-style stride piano — the revved-up ragtime offshoot where the left hand bounds back and forth over the lower half of the keyboard. Its archaic quality struck listeners as comic — in that avant-garde age, stride was for antiquarians.
Nowadays every hip outside or inside pianist will drop a little stride science once in awhile — like… more »
Jaki Byard was captured alone in a Milan studio for this delightful session. As usual, he displays his formidable technique with an ever-present twinkle of humor. Everything from early jazz (“Tin Roof Blues”) to classic renditions of Ellington masterpieces (an introspective “Solitude” and a rollicking “Caravan”) to the surprisingly enjoyable arrangement of the usually saccharine Chuck Mangione hit “Land of Make Believe” is worth repeated hearings. Another surprise is his hilarious but solid reworking of another pop smash, “Ode to Billie Joe.” Several strong Byard originals round out this highly recommended CD. – Ken Dryden
![Complete Recordings (with Art Farmer) [Bonus Track Version] album cover](http://images.emusic.com/music/images/album/129/609/12960972/300x300.jpg)
