Roger Kellaway – Concert Grand Piano
Recorded –September 28-30 2004 at The
American Academy of Arts and Letters.
New York
Roger Kellaway has done just about everything
a Pianist/Composer could do, from being
a comedian’s accompanist to being a composer
of orchestral works for the New York and
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestras. He
has also worked with very many of the
jazz ‘greats’ including Duke Ellington,
Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins and Quincy
Jones, to a say nothing of singers like
Joni Mitchell and Natalie Cole. He also
has some 25-film scores to his credit,
including ‘A Star is Born’, the Barbara
Streisand film. He also spent some years
as Musical Director for Bobby Darin and
it is from that period that he drew the
inspiration for this solo album.
Every track on this CD is a gem, but
some are stunning. His complete mastery
of the piano shines through everything
he plays and makes his work absolutely
timeless. He draws from all of his amazing
breadth of experience to produce an album
of superb quality, which is easy to listen
to and at the same time very stimulating,
He has a technique to rival Oscar Peterson
or Andre Previn, but the listener is always
aware of how the improvisations relate
to the tune.
The tunes are mostly very well known,
but they make ideal material to show off
Rogers skills, his own composition ‘I
was There’, sits comfortably with those
of Mancini, Kahn, Bricusse, Hart and Berlin
and others.
Rogers performance here is perfection,
I suspect that in the future this CD is
destined to become one of the definitive,
solo piano albums. There is no attempt
by him to use technique for techniques
sake, although the introduction to My
Funny Valentine is complex, the theme
is stated simply and beautifully. The
album gets off to a wonderful start with
Rogers interpretation of Beyond the Sea,
there is a terrific rolling bass in the
second chorus, it gives you the impression
that he has more than two hands! Charade
is played with great charm and has an
ending Oscar Peterson would have been
proud of. Another favourite track for
me is The Shadow of Your Smile. All By
Myself has him in jaunty mood on this
Irving Berlin standard, another superb
performance. Something in Your Smile has
a vocal from Roger, who has a pleasant
voice, but I would suggest that it is
his superb piano playing that this album
will be remembered for.
I recommend this album to anyone who
likes to hear the piano played by a master
(and who doesn’t). It will I am sure become
one of the great solo piano albums, which
will easily stand the test of time.
Don Mather
CD Reviews
ipo-IPOC 1006
