Search - Pandelis Karayorgis :: Seventeen Pieces

Quirkiness personified

N. Dorward | Toronto, ON Canada | 04/15/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is Karayorgis's first solo piano album. Listeners may be reminded of a Ran Blake solo recital--the spare, brief, revisionist readings of a very personal selection of tunes & a few originals--though Karayorgis's light, curiously distracted touch at the piano is very different from Blake's dark-hued stoicism. Karayorgis touches on all his household idols: there's a couple Monk tunes, some tunes by & in tribute to Duke Ellington, a couple tunes from the Tristanoite zone, a few standards ("Ghost of a Chance"--a fave of both Tristano & Monk--& "Just You Just Me", delivered in an arrangement overtly indebted to Monk), a Dolphy tune, a Sun Ra blues, & a few of the pianist's original pieces, most of them also blues. He delivers them without any conventional swing feel--instead he prefers a delicate, jumbled counterpoint between the two hands, like some pointillist version of Tristano's solo recordings. The results are a bit of an acquired taste (if you want a more accessible Karayorgis album, try _Disambiguation_ with Tony Malaby & Mat Maneri) but if you're on Karayorgis's wavelength it's definitely an album to check out."