Pianism
September 2003 By Harvey Siders
Standards
Justin Time Records
The freedom of solo piano is an exhilarating experience...." So says John Stetch in his notes to Standards (Justin Time), and it has become his ultimate form of self-expression. The Canadian-born pianist possesses an unlimited imagination, unique harmonic...
September 2003 By Harvey Siders
Mystic Heights: Grand Ideas, Volume 2
Sunnyside
What we have in Mystic Heights (Sunnyside) is an exercise in tranquillity by Armen Donelian. Simply put, it's a lush, introspective outpouring of eight original ideas, six of which include elegies and homages. No "Enigma Variations," just highly personal...
September 2003 By Harvey Siders
All Alone
MaxJazz
Jessica Williams continues to amaze with her endless versatility on All Alone (MaxJazz). This collection of standards and originals seems to belie her own comment: "I've always wanted to be a musician. Sometimes, all alone, I am." After listening to this...
September 2003 By Harvey Siders
Sublime: Honoring the Music of Hank Jones
Telarc
Sublime (Telarc) features the art of the duet, as conceived by Geoffrey Keezer, with a little help from his pianist friends-Kenny Barron, Chick Corea, Benny Green and Mulgrew Miller--all dedicated to, in Keezer's own words, "our esteemed elder and musical...
September 2003 By Harvey Siders
Fantasy Exit
SteepleChase
Harold Danko has much to offer on Fantasy Exit (Steeple-Chase) considering his long recording career, his writing and arranging, his instructional books and videos and, since 1998, his perspective on the New York scene from his perch on the faculty of the...
September 2003 By Harvey Siders
Level Playing Field
Metropolitan Records
Level Playing Field (Metropolitan) is the debut album for Oklahoma-born pianist Falkner Evans, and hopefully his final offering until he learns something about harmony, how to write an interesting song and, above all, the art of swinging. He's nowhere near...
September 2003 By Harvey Siders
It's Always You
City Light Entertainment
Put four dedicated jazzoids together in a recording studio under the direction of a pianist who has done, seen and played it all, and the result is It's Always You (City Light): Mike Melvoin, Steinway grand; Phil Woods, alto and clarinet; Steve Gilmore...
September 2003 By Harvey Siders
Poetic Necessities
Blujazz
Time for Steve Million to get more national exposure. Long a Chicago fixture, Million's fourth release as leader, Poetic Necessities (Blujazz), shows off his talents as a triple threat: a fine pianist with a feel for the bop idiom; a clever writer, with...
September 2003 By Harvey Siders
Amelia's Song
DMP
Warren Bernhardt's eighth release for DMP, Amelia's Song, is further proof that there ain't no justice. Why, at 65, Bernhardt is still not a household name is unfathomable. This session, with Jay Anderson on acoustic bass and Peter Erskine on drums, is as...
September 2003 By Harvey Siders
Wide Open Window
Khaeon
Remember the name Deanna Witkowski. The 31-year-old New Yorker is not far from jazz stardom with her keyboard techniques, her mastery of exotic time signatures, her imaginative composing and arranging (much of her writing includes sacred music) and her wordless...
