Search - Dick Wellstood :: Night in Dublin

Top Stride Piano

B. D. Tutt | London, UK. | 04/04/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is a previously unreleased live set from 1977, and features Dick Wellstood in close to his best mid - period form, playing some of his typical repertoire of the period. While he doesn't yet quite attain the improvisational freedom of his 1980s recordings, he plays here with great panache and strength.The set begins with a more or less chronological account of the development of stride piano. Two Joplin rags, played fairly straight, are followed by a driving performance of the Luckey Roberts showpiece "Pork and Beans", a dynamic rendition of Confrey's "Kitten on the Keys" and an outing of a Wellstood favourite, George L. Cobb's Rachmaninov parody, the "Russian Rag". James P. Johnson and Fats Waller standards complete the first half of the CD. The second is more eclectic, with a sensational stride performance of Cole Porter's "I Concentrate on You" (an outstanding illustration of Wellstood's Lambert - like ability to transform showtunes into stride), Wellstood's own arrangements of a theme by Paganini, John Coltrane's "Giant Steps", an Ellington medley (in which Wellstood points out that Ellington didn't write most of them even if he got the credit) and a brief blues. Music lovers should note that "Superstar", despite what the liner notes say, is not the Lloyd - Webber piece.These are all pieces that Wellstood recorded elsewhere. The value of this set lies in the excellence of the recording, which captures not only a live ambience but also something of Wellstood's distinctive piano touch. Wellstood is in outstanding form throughout: "Handful of Keys" is given a sensational performance. Only "Viper's Drag" is less than excellent. Wellstood was an improvising player, and so even familiar tunes are performed in an interesting way. Wellstood's comments, although briefer than in "Live at the Sticky Wicket", are still entertaining.Arbours is to be congratulated for disinterring this session and making it available. Dick Wellstood seems to be undergoing something of a posthumous renaissance at the moment, so let's hope that more of his LPs are re-issued on CD, and than more companies dig into their vaults for new material. Strongly recommended."