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Benny Green: The Place To Be
Green’s trio work is outstanding and nicely varied. “Playmate” is a real tour de force and features blazingly fast single-line and octave runs a la Oscar Peterson. In the middle of the song there is a lot of nice stride piano. Green and company change pace with “Pensativa,” a pleasant bossa nova that is indebted to Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Wave” and also to “You Came Along from Out of Nowhere.” “One of Another Kind” is an interesting composition and almost sounds like an up-tempo version of Miles Davis’ “So What?”
Green displays a similar eclecticism with his solo piano pieces. They range from a swinging version of Steve Allen's “Gravy Waltz” to the highly contrapuntal “The Place To Be” to a very sensitive and understated performance of the beautiful ballad “The Folks Who Live on the Hill.” The last song is one of the most poignant compositions in the Great American Songbook, yet it is not performed that often, the most recording being Diana Krall’s.
Benny Green is a consummate jazz pianist. He’s mastered all the past styles from Kansas City stride to Bill Evans to bebop and beyond and he’s taking the music to heights unknown. The Place To Be is just that, the place where everyone who appreciates great jazz will want to be.
Track Listing
Nice Pants; Playmate; I Want to Talk About You; Place to Be; I Felt That; Pensativa; One of Another Kind; Which Came First?; Noreen's Nocturne; Concertina; Gravy Waltz; Folks Who Live on the Hill
Personnel
Benny Green
pianoBenny Green, piano; Delfeayo Marsalis, trombone; Christian McBride, bass; Byron Stripling, trumpet; Gary Smulyan, baritone sax; John Clark, flugelhorn; Kenny Washington, drums; Herb Besson, tuba; Jerry Dodgion, flute, alto sax
Album information
Title: The Place To Be | Year Released: 2002 | Record Label: Blue Note Records