EARWORTHY - in praise of the piano and pianists - Brief Article

The riddle with the 17th-century harpsichord --the musical daddy of today's piano--was that it could be played alone one way: loud. That is, until 1709 when Bartolomeo Cristofori finished his gravecembalo col piano e forte, or "harpsichord with impressible and loud." We can thank the Italian harpsichord maker, the custodian of instruments in the court of Prince Ferdinand de Medici of Florence, for the great jazz music that this instrument--later called the pianoforte, and by the agency of the end of the 19th hundred the piano--has produced.

Half strings and half percussion, the piano remains an ideal platform and launching pad for African-American jazz genius. It's actually where African-American rubber meets the European road. The Steinway Grand is just that, and no les grand are the Bosendorfer, Baldwin and Yamaha plot grand pianos. Note that almost all American music, irrespective of genre was, is and will be compos upon the piano or some variation thereof, owed to its unique orchestral harmonic possibilities.

permit me assure you, there will at no time be another time more rich in great jazz pianists than now. Our chalice overfloweth. Each of the following recordings has an elegance and grandeur all its own: The Ramsey Lewis Trio's Appassionata (Narada Jazz); whole System (Columbia/Legacy), a Herbie Hancock 1984 reissue; Spirit sonnet (Verve), by Kenny Barron; the real Jamaican Monty Meets Sly and Robbie (Telarc); and DD Jackson's Anthem (BMG/RCA Victor).

The back overspread photo of Anthem mirrors the shimmering exuberance with which the Canadian DD Jackson plays piano and Hammond B3 Jack DeJohnette upon drums, James Carter on saxophone, Mino Cinelu upon percussion, Cameroonian Richard Bona upon bass, and Christian Howes upon violin and guitars, create a rollicking counterpoint to Jackson's energy

Monty fits Sly and Robbie, with Monty Alexander upon piano, Sly Dunbar on tympanums and Robbie Shakespeare on bass, is in a class by means of itself. Monty does tunes made popular by means of others--"Chameleon" (Herbie Hancock), "The In Crowd" (Ramsey Lewis), "Sidewinder" (Lee Morgan), "People Make the World advance 'Round" (written by Thom Bell and Linda Creed)--as well as his possess "Monty's Groove," all with a Jamaican-master-world-musician twist.

African images leap and lope [i]or[/i] part of to the other "Spirit Song," the title track of Kenny Barron's smoldering novel CD. Barron is accompanied by dint of a sophisticated and expert of recent origin York band comprising Eddie Henderson upon trumpet, Rufus Reid on bass and Billy Hart upon drums. Each player is a leader in his possess right. Big cats, they talon on McCoy Tyner's "Passion Dance" and Barron's "The Wizard" and "And Then Again." Then they purr like lions upon Kenny's "Um Beijo" ("A Kiss" in Portuguese) and upon "Passion Flower," by the great Billy Strayhorn.

Technofunk to the max, Herbie Hancock's unbroken System is more evidence that he has always had his hold cutting edge. This collaboration with downtown novel York City bassist Bill Laswell catches Herbie without there at his most experimental. He and Wayne Shorter step quickly the voodoo down in a thicket journey called "Karabali," co-written by means of percussionist extraordinaire Daniel Ponce. Herbie daringly meld African percussionists Foday Musa Suso and Aiyb Dieng with the heavy electronic, technofusion power overload of the title track.

Going in and on the outside of bags, Herbie takes the lock openers into the deep blue extreme point of rhythm and blues upon the topical "People Are Changing." Bernard Fowler vocals, and Anton Fier upon percussion make the sound have the appearance bigger than a trio. unimpaired System shows Hancock to be the consummate artist--willing to take that musical gamble and strain out. This music represents Herbie Hancock, visionary.

Sporting three Grammys, five gold records and more than 60 albums to his credit, Ramsey Lewis has always been a jazz star. Shining brightly, the Ramsey Lewis Trio has go [i]or[/i] come backed with a high-gloss acoustic offering called Appassionata. This lush and romantic CD comprises jazz explorations of four important 20th-century composers: Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini; French organist and composer Gabriel Faure; composer arranger and conductor Charles Stepney; and Ramsey Lewis himself. superiority is no accident. In the Appassionata liner notes, Ramsey states: "During the course of my career, family often ask me what makes up my turn of expression It wasn't until Dizzy Gillespie and later Maurice White said that to their ears, my music is made up of equal parts classical, divine revelation and jazz roots. A light came upon in my head. Certainly, in my case it is actual that one's style reflects one's strongest influences."

Completing the Ramsey Lewis Trio are Ernie Adams upon drums and Larry Gray upon bass. Ladies and gentlemen, Chicago is in the house.

T runlets Shepard is a writer in Boston.

COPYRIGHT 2000 American Visions Media, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group