One of the last living jazz beatniks, Ben Sidran is richly anthologized on this wonderful 3 disc set that includes “live” music from 1975 up to 2009. Sort of like a musical Mort Sahl, Sidran is the ultimate insider, delivering wry stories and images of a raconteur, well noted here both musically and on the liner notes that include a chat with Sidran.
Obviously, through the decades the sideman come and go, but fairly consisent are bassist Billy Peterson and drummer Leo Sidran as Ben sings while playing piano or Hammond B3. Some guests include Ray Charles alumnus David “Fathead” Newman for a grooving “Hard Times,” bebopper Phil Woods on a snappy “Minority” with most of the sax work delivered by Bob Malach as on a bouncy “Straighten Up and Fly Right.”
His piano playing is stride right as he turns up his collar on “The Groove is Gonna Get You” and growls like a carney on the funky “On the Road Again.” He knows how to caress a standard like “On the Sunny Side of the Street” and is the embodiment of “NY State of Mind.” Through this 30+ year collection, Sidran comes off as that cool uncle you see for the holidays; you love sitting next to him and hear things that your parents roll their eyes over, while trying to have you sit a bit away from at the dinner table. Lots of fun!