Entirely self-taught, unfazed by blindness and brittle bone disease, Chicago born Chris Anderson (1926-2008) remains a legendary figure among jazz pianists and an acknowledged influence on Herbie Hancock, who studied with him in 1960. Hancock was quick to spread the word among musicians. His teacher, he said, had "a whole other facet of tools of expression and harmonies that I hadn’t heard in Bill Evans," adding that "Chris Anderson is a master of harmony and sensitivity."
The reverence in which he is held by jazz musicians was not reflected in anything remotely like wider acclaim, but Anderson’s few recordings are much sought-after gems among those in the know.
His first two trio albums, for VeeJay and Riverside/Jazzland, both of which are included here, were made in 1960 and ’61 respectively. They show a very individual and provocative harmonic sense, as distinctive as Thelonious Monk’s or Bill Evans’s, a light but firm and elegant swing, and a delicate balance of the cerebral and the emotional. It gave his music tremendous power to touch the heart and appeal to the intellect at the same time. His was a very special talent.
Charlie Haden, who made the superb "None But The Lonely Heart" with him for Naim in 1997, said at the time, a propos Anderson's brittle bone disease: "Chris is risking his life with every chord, that's how much it means to him. He has such reverence for beauty, he plays like an angel." That says it all.
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Tracks
My Romance (1960):
01. Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams (Barris)
02. So in Love (Porter) - 4:25
03. You Stepped Out of a Dream (Brown)
04. Soon (Gershwin)
05. Monica (Lee)
06. A Fellow Needs a Girl (Rodgers)
07. I Could Write a Book (Rodgers)
08. My Romance (Rodgers)
09. Love Letters (Young)
Inverted Image (1961):
10. Inverted Images (Anderson)
11. Lullaby of the Leaves (Young-Petkere)
12. My Funny Valentine (Rodgers-Hart)
13. See You Saturday (Anderson-Lee)
14. Dancing in the Dark (Dietz-Schwartz)
15. Only One (Lee)
16. I Hear a Rhapsody (Fragos-Baker)
17. You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To (Porter)
CHRIS ANDERSONpiano
BILL LEE bass
PHILLY JOE JONES drums (13, 16, 17)
WALTER PERKINS drums (10-12, 14, 15)
ART TAYLOR drums (1-9)
Tracks 1-9, from VeeJay album "My Romance" (RJL-2669)
Recorded October 12, 1960, Chicago
Tracks 10-17 from the Jazzland album "Inverted Image" (JLP 957)
Recorded June 28 (4, 7, 8), and November 8 (1, 2, 3, 5, 6), New York City, 1961
Fresh Sound Records FSR-CD 688