Here are a couple variations on two traditions of the piano: Monk and Boogie Woogie. Both of which come from the same roots: stride.
Hammond B3 maestro Greg Lewis continues his exploration of the Thelonious Monk songbook with an extra twist by adding some of his own material that fits in quite well. The team of Lewis with Nasheet Waits/dr, Ronald Jackson/g and Reginald R. Woods/ts handles the hairpin turns on material like “Humph” and “Thelonious” with a deftness of hand. At times, as on “Little Rootie Tootie,” hints of Emerson Lake and Palmer creep in with thunderous sounds emanating from Lewis’ speakers. Woods’ tenor is sorghum thick on “Ugly Beauty” and the more obscure “Stuff Turkey,” and Jackson’s guitar glides on “Skippy.” The band delves into some deep grooves Lewis’ own compositions, particularly on “GCP.” Nice organic music.
Pianist Otmar Binder hearkens back to the day of Meade Lux Lewis and Albert Ammons on this delicious collection of original 8 to the bar tunes. A blues bass intro on “Southbound” sets the mood as Binder varies between solo, trio (with Alexander Lackner/b and Michael Strasser/dr), quartet (with guitarist Charlie Furthner or harpist Christian Dozzler) and various strings and guest voices. Shuffle rhythms are flying all over the place as on “Homerun” or the rocking “All The Way,” which includes some great swing guitar work. A Kansas City inflected piece like “At Last” or the barroom boogie of “Looking Forward” get to the very marrow and essence of jazz: swing! Toe tapping material guaranteed to give your Achilles tendon a workout.
Preiser Records