Long an admirer of cornetist/composer
Bix Beiderbecke
,
Dick Hyman
pays tribute to the gifted but short-lived jazz legend by interpreting the songs
Bix
recorded in a series of piano solos, mixing transcriptions of
Beiderbecke
's solos (and occasionally, others' as well) with his own improvisations. One exception is
Hyman
's original composition
"Thinking About Bix,"
a warm, easygoing piece that captures the spirit of the era. The pianist's buoyant setting of
"Singin' the Blues"
and playful rendition of
"Ostrich Walk"
prove captivating, while his jaunty interpretation of
"'Tain't So, Honey, 'Tain't So"
is lots of fun. But the obvious high points of this CD, recorded not long before
's 81st birthday, are
's rarely performed works for solo piano. The shimmering impressionist air of
"Candlelights,"
the subtlety of
"In the Dark,"
the
Gershwin
-flavored
"In a Mist,"
the constantly shifting
"Flashes,"
and the loping treatment of
"Davenport Blues"
all glisten in
's gifted hands. Stride pianist
Mike Lipskin
(a protege of stride pianist
Willie "The Lion" Smith
) joins
in a lively duo rendition of
"You Took Advantage of Me."
~ Ken Dryden