Hank Jones, the 88-year-old pianist and last surviving sibling of the jazz family that also produced Thad and Elvin, is still taking his glossily urbane keyboard talents for the same old effortless stroll.
Jones came to the UK with the saxophonist Joe Lovano a couple of years ago. His ability to join the hungry melodies of bebop to the breezy optimism of swing and the emotional landscape of love songs and blues here sounds as vibrant as ever. He plays a standard repertoire with bassist Christian McBride and drummer Jimmy Cobb, a veteran of the Kind of Blue session, and never puts a finger wrong, or plays anything shapeless or obvious. He glides through If I Were a Bell on floating chords; turns Billie's Bounce from an emphatic mid-tempo statement into a silvery swinger over Cobb's sly brushwork; lingers lovingly over arpeggios on A Child is Born; and is clamorous on Charlie Parker's Confirmation. - John Fordham
Tracks
01. On Green Dolphin Street (Bronislaw Kaper/Ned Washington)
02. Mr Walker (Wes Montgomery)
03. Speak Low (Kurt Weill/Ogden Nash)
04. A Child Is Born (Thad Jones)
05. If I Were A Bell (Frank Loesser)
06. Billie's Bounce (Charlie Parker)
07. Lotus Blossom (Billy Strayhorn)
08. Confirmation (Charlie Parker)
09. We'll Be Together Again (Clare Fisher/Frankie Lane)
10. Stella By Starlight (Victor Young)
11. Eleanor (Jimmy Cobb)
HANK JONES piano
CHRISTIAN McBRIDE bass
JIMMY COBB drums
Recorded January 29, 2006 at St. Peter Episcopal Church, New York City
Chesky Records - SACD313