Paul Tobey: It's Time

Canadian pianist Paul Tobey was on a fast track in 2004, with his debut release on Arkadia Records garnering a Juno Award nomination (the Canadian Grammy) and an eight-record deal with the label. Enter tendonitis, and severe inflation in his forearms that pushed a promising career to the back burner. After a two-decade hiatus, Tobey slides that career back up to the front of the stove in 2024, with It's Time, a solo set of (mostly) familiar covers.

Opening with Harold Arlen's "Over The Rainbow," Tobey turns the tune into a majestic yet subdued reverie before he introduces the lone original on the set, "Caminar (The Walking Song)," a jaunty, bright ramble that leads into one of jazz music's most famous tunes, "Take Five," originally presented on pianist Dave Brubeck's Time Out (Columbia Records, 1959). The original Brubeck recording featured composer Paul Desmond's sweet melodic lines over the off-kilter—for the time—rhyme. It is all piano here, and Tobey makes it work terrifically.

Tobey continues his exploration of the Great American Songbook with his heartfelt renditions of "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes," a gorgeous version of "My Foolish Heart," Jimmy Van Heusen's "Nancy With the Laughing Face" and Gene De Paul's "You Don't Know What Love Is." Tobey's supple touch and his deep respect for the tradition is the name of the game here. The Songbook never goes out of style, and Paul Tobey, back in the saddle again after a twenty-year layoff, keeps it sweet and lovely.