Piano jazz is a lot like pizza; even when it’s terrible, it’s still fairly good. Case in point is Joe Bushkin,
a fine pianist for Eddie Condon who later watered down his style to appeal to a mass audience in
concerts such as this 1963 performance. One can almost hear more passionate pianists shaking
their fist at Bushkin
because they are far more deserving of the recognition.
To be fair, Bushkin is still a terrific pianist
who can play as fast and as accurately as anyone out there, but one gets the sense that he is
content to please an audience with technical wizardry and never seems to be working all that hard
to be inventive. Guitarist Chuck Wayne seems to be the real treat, but is rendered inaudible most of
the time except for a few brief solos (he seems to have difficulty finding a role in the context).
The
program is standard fare for cocktail lounges and cabarets--Gershwin, Berlin, Porter--all delivered
with a sense of importance and sweeping drama. None of this is all that bad, but can you really
purchase this album when there’s so much other stuff out there that’s more accomplished and
nuanced? Pick up a Bill Evans record instead.
See Combing the Collectables Catalog
for related reviews.
Visit Collectables on the web.
~ David Rickert
