Posts Tagged Piano
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April 24, 2022 by Simon Sweetman
Gig Review: Hermione Johnson with Riki Gooch and Anthony Donaldson (April 21, Wellington)
Hermione Johnson w/ Riki Gooch and Anthony Donaldson Meow; Wellington Thursday, April 21 Earlier in the week I made sure I bought a ticket to see Hermione Johnson with Riki Gooch and Anthony Donaldson. Because I knew that if I didn’t book it then and there I’d make any excuse at the end of a […]Archive
January 13, 2022 by Simon Sweetman
Harold Mabern: Mabern Plays Coltrane
Harold Mabern Mabern Plays Coltrane Smoke Sessions Records The great post-bop pianist Harold Mabern died, aged 83, in 2019. His final recordings continue to arrive – Leon Lee Dorsey released Mabern’s last ever studio session just last year and here we have a live date from around 2017, released just now brand new. And if […]Archive
January 3, 2022 by Simon Sweetman
Jason Moran: The Sound Will Tell You
Jason Moran The Sound Will Tell You (Independent / Bandcamp) For his third solo piano album, Jason Moran – so brilliant across small combos, duos, all sorts of musical pairings that stretch jazz to its limits – took influence from all of the Toni Morrison he’d been reading, the Thelonious Monk he’s forever in debt […]Archive
December 23, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
Bill Charlap Trio: Street of Dreams
Bill Charlap Trio Street of Dreams Blue Note The jazz piano trio is a thing of beauty – a real test of interplay and musicianship, and of course the mercurial time-stretch between all of this; players working their own magic as a way to channel a collective good – a communal sound that feels as […]Archive
December 5, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
Joe Farnsworth: City of Sounds
Joe Farnsworth City of Sounds Smoke Sessions Records Joe Farnsworth is a tasteful presence behind the kit, never overpowering, always empathic – so if you love trio jazz but worry slightly at the sight of drumsticks on the cover, fear not. Farnsworth leads his now regular trio – Kenny Barron on piano and Peter Washington […]Archive
December 4, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
RNZ Reviews: December 2021
Once a month or so I have a chat on RNZ on their Afternoons show with Jesse Mulligan. I’ve been doing it for about five years now. Most months. This was my first time in for 2021. For my final session of 2021 I found two albums that featured covers, moving the original songs to solo piano; two […]Archive
November 29, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
Demian Dorelli: Nick Drake’s Pink Moon, a Journey on Piano
Demian Dorelli Nick Drake’s Pink Moon, a Journey on Piano Ponderosa Music Recs Nick Drake’s third and final album is my favourite from his finite catalogue, a record so shy and warm and calmly jittered, a record so deep that its 28-minute run time makes it perfect for playing on repeat. When I first heard […]Archive
November 23, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
Brian Wilson: At My Piano
Brian Wilson At My Piano Decca I can just imagine so many reviews missing the point, chuckling off at the redundancy of an instrumental set of Beach Boys songs, arguing that the sun-kissed classics need those vocal harmonies to really come alive.Archive
September 23, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
Frank Kimbrough: Ancestors
Frank Kimbrough Ancestors Sunnyside Frank Kimbrough was one hell of a piano player – and he leaves behind a legacy across composition, covers and improvisation. His sudden death at the end of last year a shock, a great sadness and it makes listening to this first posthumous album (recorded in 2017) bittersweet.Archive
August 23, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
Boris Giltburg: Beethoven 32, Vol 9 – Piano Sonatas Nos. 30-32
Boris Giltburg Beethoven 32: Vol 9 – Piano Sonatas Nos. 30-32 Naxos The final volume in pianist Boris Giltburg’s ambitious 9-volume work-through of all of Beethoven’s sonatas is yet another example of both the power of the work and the brightness of the musical personality – a wondrous pairing of composer and player here. All […]Archive
August 19, 2021 by Simon Sweetman