Tom Nazziola: Reflections On Love

Many albums feature arrangements of standards, so what does it take to stand out from the crowd? Solutions to the problem include choosing the seldom-played lesser-known standards, changing the chords to reharmonize the songs while keeping the melody and changing the instrumentation throughout the album. Tom Nazziola uses all these tools on his album Reflections On Love.

Nazziola is a pianist and Grammy-nominated composer of film scores and orchestral music. He has also contributed to Broadway productions and live-to-film projects. Along the way, he has played with artists of the caliber of Marvin Hamlisch, Michael Brecker and Gerry Mulligan. The album features a variety of formats: guitar trio, piano solo and piano quartet with trumpet. Joining Nazziola are guitarist Ian Smit, bassist Barry Hartglass and trumpeter John Bailey. In addition to piano, Nazziola also plays drums, organ and additional guitar and bass.

The album opens with Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's "One Hand, One Heart" from the musical West Side Story. Smit's gentle electric guitar flows over sensitive drums and smoothly supportive bass in a delicate reworking. "Where or When," a show tune from Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart's musical, Babes in Arms, has a similar sonic make-over with light drum flurries and a gently reaching guitar sound, which may put one in mind of Bill Frisell or Daniel Lanois.

"It Never Entered My Mind," another Rodgers and Hart show tune, follows; however, the Miles Davis Quintet version of the tune may be more familiar. Nazziola delivers romantic and stately solo piano lines with a full sound that gently cascades, creating a touch of regret. Nazziola excels on Lionel Bart's "Where is Love," with his solo piano finding delightful new angles in the spaces. George Gershwin's "A Foggy Day" is one of the more familiar standards here; the song has been covered by a variety of performers, from Red Garland to Billie Holiday. Nazziola's solo piano version is more akin to Holiday's approach, with a leisurely delivery and subtle chord changes that find a different aspect to the tune.

The change to a piano trio format suits John Blackburn's "Moonlight in Vermont." Readers may be more familiar with the Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong version. There is a change of format to a guitar trio as Smit takes the lead in Gershwin's "Love Walked In," ably supported by a subtle reading from bassist Barry Hartglass that gives the song a more contemporary feel.

The piano trio is augmented by Bailey's excellent trumpet work for "It's Easy To Remember." Rodgers and Harts' tune has been covered by a range of artists, from Perry Como to Keith Jarrett, but it is probably the John Coltrane Quartet version that is best known. Again, Nazziola finds a lightly swinging contemporary edge to the familiar.

Smit is at his best on Gershwin's "He Loves and She Loves," his quiet guitar phrasing transforming the song. Nazziola also adds Hammond B3 organ into the mix on "I Know," a song written by his father that fits perfectly into this company. Hartglass' bass again catches the ear. Surprisingly, the album closes with "No One Knows," a composition by Ernie Maresca, best known for writing credits on The Wanderer and Runaround Sue.

There is a gentle core to these songs about the various aspects of love. The reharmonization is thoughtful, respectful and creatively presents these classic songs in a way that exposes new elements of their melodies. The arrangements are delicate, often minimal, gliding and flowing with the occasional surprise that compliments the romance of the original songs.