New York-based Dave Frank is a piano style unto himself. With the most solid left hand playing jazz piano, Frank delights in composing and improvising the most devilish bass lines, defying Einstein's rule governing space and time. Frank's last recording, Ballads and Burners (Jazz Heads, 2007), amply demonstrated why Frank has a Jazz School named for him.
Frank joins Alex Levin and his recent New York Portraits (Self Produced, 2010) in paying homage to the Cultural Center of the United States. Frank honors NYC with more originals than Levin, one being the slickly serpentine "Bowery Blues," which is, indeed a blues, but one from the Dave Frank Universe, where nothing is as it seems. Frank opens the piece with a complex walking bass line that evolves beyond the twelve bars trying to contain it. Once established, Frank applies his right hand to building a picture of New York piano, from stride to Cecil Taylor. Frank's right hand freely improvises to the logical conclusion the blues always reaches: a consonant coda.
Track Listing
Full Force NYC; Broadway Boogie-Woogie; This Nearly Was Mine; Midtown 9 AM; Perdido; My Man's Gone; Lower East Side Shuffle; McKenna/McCoy; Manhattan by Moonlight; Bowery Blues; You And The Night And The Music; Times Square.
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.
We sent a confirmation message to . Look for it, then click the link to activate your account. If you don’t see the email in your inbox, check your spam, bulk or promotions folder.