Search - Hod O'Brien :: Live at Blues Alley: First Set

Masterful BeBop Piano

John Tapscott | Canada | 03/27/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Hod O'Brien is a masterful jazz pianist. His style is rooted in bebop and he borrows very little from later pianists such as Bill Evans and McCoy Tyner. Yet he easily displays the continuing vitality of the Bud Powell school. O'Brien is an individual stylist, who swings powerfully with long, flowing lines which capture and keep the listener's attention. O'Brien never uses his abundant technique to overwhelm the listener, but always to tell a heart-warming, uplifting musical story.



The music on this CD (and its companion - Second Set) was well recorded at Washington's D.C.'s Blues Alley club in the summer of 2004. The musicians playing with O'Brien here - Ray Drummond on bass and Kenny Washington on drums are masters in

their own right, and together they form a tight, responsive and supportive trio.



The opening "Nothing Like You" by Bob Dorough is a real swinger, as is "Tangerine", and the closing "Just in Time." Ray Drummond is well featured on a memorable reading of "Lullaby of the Leaves." Freddie Redd's "Thespian" begins as a reflective, gentle ballad before shifting gears into a hard-driving, uptempo romp. "Bye-Bye Blackbird" contains an lengthy and impressive block-chord solo by O'Brien. These are but a few highlights from a recording in which every track has a special appeal.



This excellent and highly enjoyable CD is recommended without reservation to lovers of jazz piano."