- Audio CD (29 Nov 1993)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Label: Concord
- ASIN: B0000006MQ
- Other Editions: Audio CD
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 390,624 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Product details |
Track Listings
| 1. Honeysuckle Rose |
| 2. In A Mist |
| 3. Clothes Line Ballet |
| 4. In The Dark |
| 5. Ain't Misbehavin' |
| 6. Echo Of Spring |
| 7. Dinah |
| 8. Love Lies |
| 9. Russian Lullaby |
| 10. St. Louis Blues |
| 11. The Viper's Drag |
| 12. After You've Gone |
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk
Sutton is an extraordinary musician who came after what was generally regarded as the classic era of jazz and yet somehow was a part of it, since, as a youngster, he played in Eddie Condon's New York club and with Condon's bands. Wonderfully dextrous, he began his career when he was 20 by playing briefly in Jack Teagarden's big band before he was called into the army. Today he is the leading stride pianist and has been without competition since Willie "The Lion" Smith died. He easily outperforms other practitioners of the art (there aren't many) and like the Lion and James P. Johnson, the span of his music is enormous. In this beautifully recorded recital at the Maybeck Hall in 1993 he had the benefit of a beautiful instrument, far removed from the class of pub and night club pianos that he has worked at over the years. Here he pays tribute to many of his friends and influences with tunes by Fats Waller, the Lion and Bix Beiderbecke. There are also effective workouts on "St. Louis Blues" and Irving Berlin's "Russian Lullaby". --Steve Voce
Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars
5 reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fine Piano
31 Mar 2001
By B. D. Tutt
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Audio CD
Ralph Sutton has long been a top flight stride pianist, and this 1994 album offers a typical set of Sutton favourites. Indeed, Sutton has been criticised for playing the same pieces again and again, and anyone who has heard him live will have heard many of these numbers.
However, Sutton is a genuinely improvising player, and within the context of Waller influenced stride piano, he plays with great creativity. Even though he must have played many of these pieces thousands of times, he finds something fresh to say. "Dinah", for example, is very different to previous recordings of it. Sutton is also a great ballad player, as tracks like "Love Lies" demonstrate.
Sutton is not quite in top form on this CD, but is such a fine player that a typical day for him is better than most of the competition. The sound quality is good, the audience enthusiastic and the piano in tune.
Along with "Live from the Cafe des Copains" on Sackville and "Eye Opener" on Solo Art, this album is a good record of the way Sutton has been playing in the last 20 years.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Stride Lives?
5 Mar 2005
By jive rhapsodist
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Audio CD
OK, it's not so harsh...I'd give it 3 1/2 if I knew how. but still...I want to like this disc more - he plays great. On some tracks he really plays his butt off. But some of his choices...
I compared his version of Bix's In The Dark to Jess Stacy's wonderful performance. Sutton just doen't trust the material. The balance between Jazz and Impressionism is upset by his overreliance on rubato. And in Willie the Lion's Echo of Spring, a potentially magnificent performance is marred by his repeating the quotes from Waller's African Ripples, as though he doesn't think we got his connection. And at 6 min.,it's about a minute too long - the improvising is good but not fascinating. And just in terms of programming, there are a couple of quotes from Dinah, which is the next track!
There is a lot of Waller in Sutton's playing, but technically he cannot bring off Waller's pearly runs and arpeggios (hear the beginnings of Ain't Misbehavin' and Viper's Drag). But this is unfair; Fats was a miracle...
Sometimes Sutton's groove is a little too bouncy and not incisive enough for my taste. At those moments he sounds like the World's Greatest Restaurant Pianist...but then I'm not doing justice to his passion, which is considerable. He was not a simple re-creator; he did a lot to keep this music alive and vital. I totally respect that, and there's a lot of pleasure to get out of his playing here.
I compared his version of Bix's In The Dark to Jess Stacy's wonderful performance. Sutton just doen't trust the material. The balance between Jazz and Impressionism is upset by his overreliance on rubato. And in Willie the Lion's Echo of Spring, a potentially magnificent performance is marred by his repeating the quotes from Waller's African Ripples, as though he doesn't think we got his connection. And at 6 min.,it's about a minute too long - the improvising is good but not fascinating. And just in terms of programming, there are a couple of quotes from Dinah, which is the next track!
There is a lot of Waller in Sutton's playing, but technically he cannot bring off Waller's pearly runs and arpeggios (hear the beginnings of Ain't Misbehavin' and Viper's Drag). But this is unfair; Fats was a miracle...
Sometimes Sutton's groove is a little too bouncy and not incisive enough for my taste. At those moments he sounds like the World's Greatest Restaurant Pianist...but then I'm not doing justice to his passion, which is considerable. He was not a simple re-creator; he did a lot to keep this music alive and vital. I totally respect that, and there's a lot of pleasure to get out of his playing here.
4.0 out of 5 stars
RALPH SUTTON
31 Mar 2013
By John.
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
One to enjoy. Sutton plays with great delicacy, particularly on the Bix Beiderbecke numbers. The "standard" tunes receive subtle interpretations.
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4.2 out of 5 stars
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