This is the type of recording opportunity that many jazz pianists dream of: a perfectly tuned superior sounding nine-foot grand in an acoustically exceptional performance hall (The Maestro Foundation, which is actually within an elegant private home!) with an attentive and extremely quiet audience.
Dick Hyman takes advantage of all these factors, adding his wide ranging taste in jazz and impeccable playing technique to produce a very memorable CD of solo piano.
His stunning opener is a fabulous interpretation of "The Way You Look Tonight," and the program also includes stride ("Carolina Shout"), playful takes of "Just You, Just Me" and "Tea for Two," an elegant waltzing "Lover," and the obscure "Odeon" from the early days of the 20th century.
Hyman also adds his jaunty tribute to Bix Beiderbecke ("Thinking About Bix") and delivers a breathtaking treatment of "Shenandoah," a piece of Americana that has retained universal appeal over its long history.
Although Dick Hyman has made superb CDs and LPs over his decades-long career, this masterpiece should be considered essential, too, by fans of jazz piano.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Way You Look TonightDorothy Fields, Jerome Kern | Dick Hyman | Play | 05:50 | 13 MB | 21 MB |
| 2 | Lost in the StarsMaxwell Anderson, Kurt Weill | Dick Hyman | Play | 06:01 | 13 MB | 19 MB |
| 3 | Just You, Just MeJesse Greer, Raymond Klages | Dick Hyman | Play | 05:13 | 11 MB | 19 MB |
| 4 | Tea for TwoIrving Caesar, Vincent Youmans | Dick Hyman | Play | 10:01 | 22 MB | 36 MB |
| 5 | OdeonErnesto Nazareth | Dick Hyman | Play | 03:11 | 7 MB | 11 MB |
| 6 | The Song Is YouOscar Hammerstein II, Jerome Kern | Dick Hyman | Play | 05:25 | 12 MB | 21 MB |
| 7 | LoverLorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers | Dick Hyman | Play | 07:37 | 17 MB | 27 MB |
| 8 | Thinking About BixDick Hyman | Dick Hyman | Play | 02:45 | 6 MB | 10 MB |
| 9 | ShenandoahTraditional | Dick Hyman | Play | 04:40 | 10 MB | 15 MB |
| 10 | All the Things You AreOscar Hammerstein II, Jerome Kern | Dick Hyman | Play | 08:45 | 20 MB | 28 MB |
| 11 | Carolina ShoutJames P. Johnson | Dick Hyman | Play | 03:44 | 8 MB | 15 MB |
| 63 mins | 144 MB | |||||
| 63 mins | 226 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maxwell Anderson | Composer |
| 2 | Irving Caesar | Composer |
| 3 | Richard Davenport | Piano Technician |
| 4 | Dorothy Fields | Composer |
| 5 | Jesse Greer | Composer |
| 6 | Oscar Hammerstein II | Composer |
| 7 | Lorenz Hart | Composer |
| 8 | J. Tamblyn Henderson | Producer |
| 9 | Dick Hyman | Composer, Piano, Primary Artist |
| 10 | James P. Johnson | Composer |
| 11 | Keith O. Johnson | Engineer |
| 12 | Jeff Kaufman | Photography |
| 13 | Jerome Kern | Composer |
| 14 | Raymond Klages | Composer |
| 15 | Floyd Levin | Liner Notes |
| 16 | Marcia Martin | Executive Producer |
| 17 | Ernesto Nazareth | Composer |
| 18 | William Roarty | Design |
| 19 | Richard Rodgers | Composer |
| 20 | Paul Stubblebine | Editing, Mastering |
| 21 | Traditional | Composer |
| 22 | Kurt Weill | Composer |
| 23 | Vincent Youmans | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |