Search - Ray Bryant :: Montreux 77

Superb Ray Bryant - Live!

Bomojaz | South Central PA, USA | 07/27/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Without a doubt Ray Bryant showed up at the 1977 Montreux festival ready to play - and to dazzle. What truly amazes one on this date is how Ray can take fairly common material and make it absolutely his own. SATIN DOLL, for example; it's been played a thousand times but Ray has found a way to present it differently: he does it as a hard-driving, up-tempo, in-your-face swinger - and it's wonderful. So too with John Lewis's dirge-like DJANGO: Ray does it anything but dirge-like but rather as an up-tempo burner accented with a pounding left hand. That forceful left hand is also in evidence on Strayhorn's TAKE THE A TRAIN, with the bass part coming across like something Pete Johnson or Albert Ammons might play. Amazing! JUNGLE TOWN JUBILEE is a sprightly tune written by Lloyd Glenn, a fun-spirited R&B trumpeter from the 40's and 50's, and Ray seems to be having a ball with it. IF I COULD JUST MAKE IT TO HEAVEN reveals gospel elements along with a sound similar to Roger Kellaway playing his ALL IN THE FAMILY theme - a unique performance. Ray plays the ST. LOUIS BLUES at times as if it were a train piece and he was a barreling locomotive. If jazz is the "sound of surprise," this album is a superb example of the music. I think it one of Bryant's very best. Grab it if you can."

Fine playing

Emily Plath | CA USA | 09/30/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I only recently discovered Ray Bryant's talent and I absolutely love his solo work. There are some terrific songs on this album and there's nothing like a piano player of his caliber playing a live show. It's definitely worth owning!"