The first of two great compact discs full of the inventive and challenging solo piano stylings of Ran Blake. Long one of the prime movers of the Third Stream, Blake has been honored with a prestigious Mac Arthur Foundation Fellowship in recognition of his unique and profound artistry.
The two albums comprising Painted Rhythms: The Compleat Ran Blake follow Blake’s essential vision through his own compositions as well as interpretations of musics ranging from the jazz standards of Duke Ellington and Jerome Kern and of Scott Joplin rags of Volume 1 to the ancient Sephardic folk tunes and contemporary Spanish art songs that form the heart of Volume 2
Tracks
01. Azure (Ellington)
02. Skrontch (Ellington)
03. Drop Me Off in Harlem (Ellington)
04. What’s Your Story, Morning Glory? (Wiiliams/Webster/Lawrence)
05. Ezzthetic (Russell)
06. Interlude (Rugolo/Russell)
07. Painted Rhythm (Kenton)
08. Who (Kern/Hammerstein/Harbach)
09. Smoke in Your Eyes (Kern/Harbach)
10. Impresario of Death (Blake)
11. Moonlight on the Ganges (Ewing/Wallace)
12. Hallelujah, I Love Her So (Charles)
13. Maple Leaf Rag (Joplin)
14. Maple Leaf Rag (Joplin)
15. Maple Leaf Rag (Joplin)
RAN BLAKE piano
Recorded in December 1985 at Houghton Chapel, Wellesley College, in Wellesley, and at the North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly, Massachusetts
GM RECORDINGS GM3007CD