The Best J*** Al***s of 2010 ???
Posted by: Voltaire on 17 December 2010
Posted on: 19 December 2010 by bdnyc
Hi Haim,
While I like Sir Roland Hanna's tribute to the late Tommy Flanagan, I would actually rather just put on one of his many great recordings to visit with the master. I had Lady Be Good on this week, and I was stunned all over again how unique and fluid his playing was. We are lucky to have many younger and talented players bringing the legacy of piano jazz forward into the 21st century; Charlap, Mehldau, Iyer, Arriale, Moran,etc. and many players older and more established who have their owns styles and voices, but when Tommy was alive, he was the one most often singled out by his peers as the best of the best. Sonny Rollins said it many times, and I wouldn't want to presume to know any better.
If you don't have them, try to find any of the following masterpieces by Tommy:
Lady Be Good (for Ella)
Sunset and the Mockingbird (Live)
Thelonica
Jazz Poet
Beyond the Blue Bird
Sea Changes
He was wonderful to see live and I was fortunate enough to see him live maybe a dozen times and he never was less than brilliant. Many nights I saw him play in New York, there were other jazz luminaries and pianists there, all come to see the master spin his uniquely swinging webs.
Good listening,
Bruce
While I like Sir Roland Hanna's tribute to the late Tommy Flanagan, I would actually rather just put on one of his many great recordings to visit with the master. I had Lady Be Good on this week, and I was stunned all over again how unique and fluid his playing was. We are lucky to have many younger and talented players bringing the legacy of piano jazz forward into the 21st century; Charlap, Mehldau, Iyer, Arriale, Moran,etc. and many players older and more established who have their owns styles and voices, but when Tommy was alive, he was the one most often singled out by his peers as the best of the best. Sonny Rollins said it many times, and I wouldn't want to presume to know any better.
If you don't have them, try to find any of the following masterpieces by Tommy:
Lady Be Good (for Ella)
Sunset and the Mockingbird (Live)
Thelonica
Jazz Poet
Beyond the Blue Bird
Sea Changes
He was wonderful to see live and I was fortunate enough to see him live maybe a dozen times and he never was less than brilliant. Many nights I saw him play in New York, there were other jazz luminaries and pianists there, all come to see the master spin his uniquely swinging webs.
Good listening,
Bruce