Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » John Tesh: This Bud's For You
John Tesh: This Bud's For You
ByEschewing the banks of electronic keyboards heard on many of his recordings, Tesh sticks exclusively to grand piano as he dives head-first into a program of challenging works by bop great Bud Powell. "Parisian Thoroughfare" is one of Powell's most difficult pieces, yet Tesh navigates it at such a blazing tempo it sounds like he has played it throughout his career.
He easily captures the sly humor within "So Sorry Please" and surprisingly pulls off "Tempus Fugue-It" (for years misidentified as "Tempus Fugit"). His brisk, rollicking treatment of "Celia" will definitely turn a few heads among critics. He also deserves credit for playing some of Powell's less frequently performed songs like "Willow Grove."
The one slight misfire is Tesh's composition "This Bud's For You," a ballad intended as a serious salute to Bud Powell, but is just not up to the standard of Powell's compositions as it comes off a little flat. The excellent liner notes are by the German jazz scholar Hans Totmüde, who got to know Powell through Francois Paderas during the pianist's time in Europe and also Mary Hart, Tesh's co-host on the television magazine Entertainment Tonight.
Track Listing
Parisian Thoroughfare; Reets and I; Bouncing With Bud; Celia; Buttercup; So Sorry Please; Tempus Fugue-It; Elegy; Willow Grove; This Bud's For You.
Personnel
John Tesh: piano; Hans Totm
Album information
Title: This Bud's For You | Year Released: 2007 | Record Label: Sky Pilot
< Previous
Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz with F...
Next >
Big Fish & Small Pond