Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Dave Burrell: Margy Pargy

184

Dave Burrell: Margy Pargy

By

Sign in to view read count
Dave Burrell: Margy Pargy
Dave Burrell's dual association with early jazz and the avant-garde gives his playing a grounded originality. Margy Pargy spends an easygoing near-hour with the pianist's solo ruminations on classics and his own wily compositions. Like his frequent collaborator Archie Shepp, he reaches effortlessly through time to retrieve all flavors of the blues, while incorporating unflinching romanticism and an uncluttered wit.

The old chestnut "I Only Have Eyes For You saunters in with worldly nonchalance. While Burrell's right hand plays it straightforward, his left offers sly variations. Opening with a looping Monkism, "Expansion rolls on little wheels like a gear box. "DB Blues employs creative modulations that convey a sense of earlier times.

The brief, quirky Prelude to Crucificado gives no hint of the humid intensity waiting in the subsequent "Crucificado. Latin harmonies in stately minors unfold dramatically as Burrell lightens the heaviness with playful variation. The title track paces in circles, incorporating modernized ragtime structures. Burrell walks Strayhorn's "Lush Life down some unexpected alleys, ending it sweetly. His take on "My Foolish Heart recalls Monk's ability to play an older tune and lovingly tweak and deconstruct it, always guided by a genuine love for the piece. Cole Porter's "So In Love ends the collection with a dark, direct interpretation.

Burrell's stylish elegant performances inhabit a space poised between past and future with plenty of technique, boasting reverent roots as well as forward vision.

Track Listing

I Only Have Eyes For You; Expansion; DB Blues; Prelude to Crucificado; Crucificado; Margy Pargy; Lush Life; My Foolish Heart; So In Love.

Personnel

Dave Burrell: piano.

Album information

Title: Margy Pargy | Year Released: 2006 | Record Label: Unknown label

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris
Candid
Sunny Five
Inside Colours Live
Julie Sassoon

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.