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Mitchel Forman: Lost and Found

By C. Michael Bailey
September 15, 2010
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Track review of "Butterflies with Hiccups"

This wonderfully strange disc, Lost and Found is the result of a confluence of spirits. Recorded in 1979, pianist Mitchel Forman was performing with Gerry Mulligan's quartet. Forman was invited to the Tuscan villa of Franca Mulligan's parents, Gerry's in-laws. There, Mulligan recorded the young pianist performing originals and Mulligan compositions. Besides a church-arty "Jeru," Forman performed Mulligan's "Butterflies with Hiccups."

The composition possesses elements of 1920s jazz piano, stride, ragtime, and mainstream. Forman's playing captures the title perfectly with his off-time, almost loping playing, centering around an ostensible waltz meter. Forman leaves very little space for silence, but he does not do so in too wordy a way as Art Tatum often did. His playing does have a dense economy where no notes are wasted. This recording is a gem from beginning to end, teetering on the crown of "Butterflies with Hiccups."

Personnel

Mitchel Forman

keyboards

Mitchel Forman: piano.

Album information

Title: Lost and Found | Year Released: 2010 | Record Label: Marsis Jazz

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