Solo Piano

by Tommy Flanagan

Overview

Tommy Flanagan spent a good part of his career accompanying Ella Fitzgerald between 1965 and 1978, so few jazz fans had an idea how capable a pianist he was until he went out on his own in 1978. These previously unissued solo performances (recorded in Zurich in 1974) are a welcome addition to his discovery, mixing bop favorites with a few standards. The bop material includes a pair each of compositions by Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk, along with an elegant treatment of Dizzy Gillespie's "Con Alma." But a problem came up in the assembly of this CD. Evidently another pianist's work, who has a definite Art Tatum influence, is heard on the last ten tracks, especially in "Caravan" (borrowing Tatum's heavy chords and striding left hand), "Just One of Those Things," and the playful "Willow Weep for Me." The spirited stride piano rendition of Earl Hines' "Rosetta," complete with chime-like chords, would have made both Tatum and Hines smile in approval, though this hardly sounds like Flanagan. The rollicking "St. Louis Blues," obviously inspired by Hines' famous "Boogie Woogie on the St. Louis Blues," is yet another twist. Storyville quietly removed Solo Piano from their catalog when the error was discovered, but the mystery of the second pianist's identity (possibly Adam Makowicz?) remains. ~ Ken Dryden

Product Details

Release Date:	08/15/2025
Label:	Storyville Records
UPC:	0717101849192

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Tommy Flanagan   Primary Artist,Piano

Technical Credits

Anders Stefansen   Audio Production,Producer
Bud Powell   Composer
Carl Sigman   Composer
Truman Capote   Composer
Oscar Hammerstein II   Composer
Richard Rodgers   Composer
Henri Woode   Composer
Ann Ronell   Composer
Scott Yanow   Liner Notes
Chrisna Morten   Layout Design
Jan Perrson   Photography
Benny Goodman & His Orchestra   Composer
Thelonious Monk   Composer
Otto Harbach   Composer
Earl Hines   Composer
Billy Strayhorn   Composer
Raymond Hubbell   Composer
Juan Tizol   Composer
Lorenz Hart   Composer
W.C. Handy   Composer
Edgar Sampson   Composer
Benny Goodman   Composer
Fats Waller   Composer
Dizzy Gillespie   Composer
Razaf   Composer
Chick Webb   Composer
Cole Porter   Composer
Irving Mills   Composer
Harold Arlen   Composer
Andy Razaf   Composer
Jerome Kern   Composer
Tadd Dameron   Composer
Duke Ellington   Composer