Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Michael Kocour: East Of The Sun

3

Michael Kocour: East Of The Sun

By

View read count
Michael Kocour: East Of The Sun
Pianist Michael Kocour—a longtime member of the Chicago jazz community, now on the faculty of Arizona State University—presents his third solo piano album. His previous solo album Wherever You Go, There You Are (OA2 Records, 2015) was a mix of originals, jazz and popular standards, even including a few electric piano tracks. This one (which Kocour describes as "the most traditional" of his solo piano albums) is entirely devoted to standards, mostly from the 1920s and 1930s.

The title tune opens the set, a typically elegant treatment, with the traditional division of labor between the hands—comping in the left, fluid lines in the right. "I've Got A Right To Sing The Blues" demonstrates Kocour's facility with stride piano, as does "Come Rain Or Come Shine." "Who Cares" opens with call-and-response between the hands, before moving into walking bass and unison.

"I Can't Stop Loving You" (the Don Gibson song associated with Ray Charles) closes the album with a jubilant, funky reading, full of expressive tremolando in the right hand and alternating bass lines and chords in the left. Kocour's technique is masterful—the late pianist Marian McPartland said he had "technique to die for," and had him as a guest on her Piano Jazz radio show—but never overpowers the emotional effect. East Of The Sun is a treat for lovers of mainstream jazz piano.

Track Listing

East Of The Sun; I've Got A Right To Sing The Blues; She's Funny That Way; Sweet Lorraine; Who Cares?; Just One Of Those Things; Come Rain Or Come Shine; I'm Coming Virginia; Stardust; I Can't Stop Loving You.

Personnel

Michael Kocour: piano.

Album information

Title: East Of The Sun | Year Released: 2019 | Record Label: OA2 Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About 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 make 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.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves 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

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

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

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.