This superb recording is the first in a projected series featuring Philadelphia jazz musicians. It consists of specially recorded, solo piano tracks by some of the finest jazz pianists currently residing or performing in the Philadelphia area. In the near future, the producer, Todd Horton, plans to issue a recording focusing on saxophonists, to be followed in turn by the other instruments in the jazz ensemble. The series will showcase the extraordinary talent centered in and around Philadelphia, both historically and today.

The historical perspective has been captured here by inviting each performer to play a song composed by a Philadelphia musician. Thus pianist and big-band leader Don Wilson performs Lee Morgan’s beautiful ballad, “Ceora.” Morgan, a great trumpet player who died back in 1972, came up in Philadelphia, and was a close friend of Wilson. The Philly connection is reiterated this way in every performance. Great tunes by saxophonists John Coltrane and Benny Golson, pianist McCoy Tyner and guitarist Pat Martino, for example, echo the early days of post-bebop in the city, and also remind us that jazz in Philadelphia has made an indelible mark on jazz around the world.

Like a set of fine China, Pianadelphia is characterized by its craftsmanship, delicacy and sheer beauty. Each musician shows himself to be an exquisite interpreter of the jazz piano idiom, demonstrating how spontaneous variations of simple tunes can become memorable compositions in themselves. Each pianist performed on a refurbished 1928 Steinway Grand in a studio with excellent acoustics and “pin-drop” silence.

The microphone types and placements (see Production Notes below) have captured the music with perfection. What you hear is a pure distillation of modern jazz piano, without extraneous sounds, crowd-pleasing effects or the disturbing imperfections that occur even in some studio settings. The recording was obviously a labor of love for Horton and the pianists, and nothing but the highest quality would do.

The album is of interest from several standpoints. As a highly listenable set of jazz piano performances for both the casual and serious jazz lover; as a demonstration of Philadelphia’s prodigious musical network; and as a series of fascinating and rich interpretations that reflect various styles and approaches to modern jazz piano.

Wonderful similarities—and equally wonderful contrasts—abound from start to finish. Take the ballads. Trudy Pitts’ version of Coltrane’s “Naima,” Dave Posmontier’s rendition of Golson’s “Whisper Not,” Wilson’s performance of Morgan’s “Ceora,” and Ron Thomas’ take on Martino’s “Portrait Of Diana” are lyrical expressions honoring the respective composers. Pitts offers an impassioned “romantic” feel for the Coltrane piece, with shades of French impressionism. Posmontier delivers an intriguing theme and variations on “Whisper Not,” incorporating styles ranging from swing and bebop to ragtime. Wilson performs “Ceora” with the sensitivity of the master musician he is. Thomas gives “Diana” the delicacy of fine lace, revealing in his arrangement his longtime interest in contemporary classical composers like Karl Heinz Stockhausen and Eliot Carter.

By contrast, Tom Lawton plays Hank Mobley’s “The Third Time Around” with percussive syncopations, the use of thick chord structures, spontaneous motifs, and a firm hand reminiscent of Mobley’s assertive saxophone style. Jim Ridl’s reading of Martino’s early composition, “The Great Stream,” takes the tune into the stratosphere with modernistic counterpoints and fugue-like passages utilizing Ridl’s remarkable virtuosity and mastery of the blues. Paul Sotille plays Bobby Timmons’ “Moanin’” with a contemplative soulfulness.

Neil Podgurski chose Sun Ra’s “Springtime In Chicago,” and offers a vibrant hommage to Ra’s remarkable contribution to jazz. The keyboardist and band leader's outlandish ways, including his belief that he came from Saturn, in whose imagined native costumes he often dressed, have tended to obscure his extraordinary inventiveness. Ra contributed in a big way to many of the jazz styles that emerged after bebop, and particularly to Coltrane’s later work.