1.
Easy Walker - Intro
2.
Easy Walker
3.
Song Without Words - Intro
4.
Song Without Words
5.
Elegy
6.
Rain Threads - Intro
7.
Rain Threads
8.
Street of Dreams - Intro
9.
Street of Dreams
10.
Foots
11.
Stan's Song - Intro
12.
Stan's Song
13.
Night Mist - Intro
14.
Night Mist
Lee Shaw - Piano
Rich Syracuse - Bass
Jeff "Siege" Siegel - Drums
The best word I can find to describe pianist Lee Shaw
is "ladylike". This is not only because she is a lady but
also because she has a delicate touch at the piano and seldom plays
with excessive force. Mind you, she was aged 81 when this CD was recorded
at Graz in Austria in November 2007, which may explain her generally
gentle approach.
Lee wrote five of the eight tunes on the album, most
of which are preceded by her spoken introductions. The non-originals
are Billy Taylor's Easy Walker, which makes a swinging opener;
Victor Young's Street of Dreams, which displays the lyrical
side of Lee's playing; and Ahmad Jamal's Night Mist, which
is given a relaxed ten-minute outing by the trio (although the drum
solo is frankly a bit of a mess). Altogether the trio's playing is
likeable without being particularly outstanding.
The package appears attractive because it includes
a DVD as well as a CD. However, the recording quality of the DVD is
poor and the footage looks like a home movie. The camera mostly remains
stationary, only moving occasionally to zoom in on the musicians,
although the pianist's hands are often half-hidden behind someone's
head. And the sound quality is poor: recorded in an echoey room. The
so-called "bonus track" - Blues Eleven - is illustrated
with still photos, and there are interviews with the band members
So this is a pleasant package but let down by the presentation.
Tony Augarde
CD Reviews
Artists
Recording Collective ARC 2062
