Steve Ash; You And The Night

Lucky for all of us who still love a jazz piano, here's one to keep an eye out for. Pianist Steve Ash is a new name to me but he has the essence of the art form at his disposal. His trio is completed by veterans Harvey S on bass and Alvester Garnett on drums. The trio keeps the jazz flame alive on much admired material like “You And The Night And The Music”, “I'm Just A Lucky So And So”. “For Heaven's Sake”, “Dream Dancing”, and some bop staples by guys with names such as Parker, Powell, Tyner, and Shorter. Does all that sound like it just might fit the bill? Darn right!

Cellar; 2024; appx. 44 min.

Tucker Brothers; Live At Chatterbox

The Tucker Brothers, Joel on guitar and Nick on bass, co-lead this invigorating piano-less quartet for jazz lovers in Indianapolis. With colleagues Sean Imboden on tenor sax and Carrington Clinton on drums, the quartet performs seven selections, most of which are generous in length. Four of them are well known to you: “Skylark”, “Caravan”, “You And The Night And The Music”, and “I Got Rhythm”. There's a hard bop intensity here and perhaps it would be safe to say this is not for the Lawrence Welk fan club. 

So here's hard hitting, in the groove, Indiana jazz men putting it out there with no holds barred.

Self produced; probably 2024; appx. 56 min.

Neal Caine; Skip To My Lou

I kept waiting for the title tune to present itself like the “Skip To My Lou” from childhood. It really never happened but what DID was a mischievous quirky melody which I liked immediately. Bassist and leader Neal Caine mixes in some not often heard material like “Chim Chim Cheree”, “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” and “If I Only Had A Brain” with some intense and creative originals as well. All three trio members really turn up the heat here and yet I found this music to be quite accessible. Special thanks to pianist Andrew Fisher who was on target throughout. Drummer Henry Connerway III was alternately subtle and fiery when needed. This is a very well integrated trio which sounds like they've worked together for quite some time. 

Self produced; 2023; times not indicated

Peter Hand; Blue Topaz

Are you into the tradition of the blowing sessions? It entails mostly original compositions with very generous solo work for all. If so, you're going to enjoy this hot cooking date led by guitarist Peter Hand. The players heard here seemingly touch upon the dependable Blue Note type groove with more than a smattering of blues and a nod to lyricism as well. It is, to be sure, a sort of jazz we grew up with and learned to love. For the record, the one standard on the session is a winner, “One For My Baby”. There's no attempt here at showmanship or anything extraneous. It's simply very skilled musicians doing what they do at a consistently high level. This is what the art form is all about. Peter Hand and friends are all doing the right stuff!

Whaling City Sound; 2024; appx. 58 min.

PS – I know I'm hinting at my age, but it's worth it when I tell you that the one tune I left out in the above review was a 1950's pop hit for a female vocal group called The Chordettes. No doubt some of you remember Mr. Sandman! Reborn here and what fun!

Andy Pratt; Trio

If like me you place a lot of value in revered tunes from the great American Songbook, you should check out guitarist Andy Pratt's excellent trio. His no frills, no gimmicks approach is completed by bassist Joe Policastro and drummer Phil Gratteau. Pratt sings on many of the selections in a pleasant musicianly manner. You'll know many of the tunes and among them are a few rare surprises, Consider the Gershwin classic “Soon”, the Tony Bennett “semi-hit” “When Joanna Loved Me”, a pop hit from the '50's called “Patricia”, and lots more. I for one would prefer a bit more of Pratt's super guitar work and a little less vocalizing. However, it was an upper to hear these songs from the past. Nice going, guys!

Thrift Girl Records; 2024; appx. 44 min. 

Charles Chen; Charles, Play!

There's one new name here and that's the leader and very swinging pianist on the date, Charles Chen. The remaining members of the quartet have honored the jazz art for a long time. Consider Peter Washington on bass and Kenny Washington on drums. But the big pleasant surprise is tenor sax man Ralph Moore. I've wondered about Moore for a couple of decades. He seemed to have disappeared, so what a delight to once again hear his very personal, in-the-pocket tone working with the above named threesome! Pianist Chen shows his prowess both on piano and as a composer on five of the selections heard here. He is featured on the standard “These Foolish Things”, and it's delicate, sensible, and perfect. Among his originals, I was particularly impressed with Chen's “Golson”. It focuses upon a medium tempo delight with a very lyrical melody line---just the way tenor giant Benny Golson used to write them. Really, all the originals were standouts. Other familiar fare are “How About You”, “Be My Love” (remember Mario Lanza?), and Charlie Parker's “Passport”. All told, this is the real thing. Welcome back to Ralph Moore and a high five to Charles Chen and the Washingtons!

Cellar; 2024; appx. 48 min.

Pianists Alphabetically

 Alphabetically, here are some jazz pianists I admire. Undoubtedly, I've overlooked a few. If you care to add names to this list, contact me at jazzfens13@gmail.com.

Thank you,

George Fendel

Toshiko Akiyoshi

Monty Alexander

Ehud Asherie

Kenny Barron

Count Basie

Shelly Berg

Alan Broadbent

Dave Brubeck

John Bunch

Dave Catney

Bill Charlap

Sonny Clark

Nat Cole

Duke Ellington

Bill Evans

Tommy Flanagan

Russ Freeman

Don Friedman

Red Garland

Errol Garner

Lorraine Geller

Darrell Grant

Tardo Hammer

Hampton Hawes

Tamir Hendelman

Eddie Higgins

Jutta Hipp

Elmo Hope

Keith Jarrett

Pete Jolly

Hank Jones

Oliver Jones

Roger Kellaway

Lou Levy

Adam Makovich

Pete Malinverni

Dodo Marmarosa

Jon Mayer

Bill Mays

Marion McPartland

Mulgrew Miller

Thelonious Monk

Dado Moroni

Phineas Newborn

Tony Pacini

Jeb Patton

Dave Peck

Oscar Peterson

Enrico Pieranunzi

Randy Porter

Sidney Porter

Bud Powell

Andre Previn

John Proulx

Jean Ronne

Jimmy Rowles

George Shearing

Don Shirley

Billy Strayhorn

Art Tatum

Billy Taylor

Lennie Tristano

McCoy Tyner

Fats Waller

Cedar Walton

Gerry Wiggins

James Williams

Jessica Williams

Claude Williamson

Richard Wyands

And finally, Denny Zeitlin