Pianist Peter Beets takes a fresh look at the George Gershwin songbook in a trio setting with drummer Eric Kennedy and Tom Baldwin. We’ve all heard these songs ad infinitum, so Beets’ great challenge is to bring some new wine to these old skins.
He succeeds for the most part, with Kennedy giving a hip military snap shuffle to “Our Love Is Here To Stay” and bopping hard on a driving take of “Summertime.” Baldwin gives a grooved line for the intro to a Class IV rapid of “S’Wonderful” while the three show relaxed passion on a “I’ve Got A Crush On You.” For his own station, Beets strides right on an upbeat “Embraceable You” and glistens on a pretty “I Loves You, Porgy” with the whole team going uptown on “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” and showing sharp corners on “Lady, Be Good!” A nice fresh coat of paint.