Search - Don Ewell :: Live at the 100 Club

Great Pianist, Poor Piano

B. D. Tutt | London, UK. | 07/07/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A rare live solo session from 1971 recorded in London. Ewell was still a strong performer at this time (as the Chiaroscuro solo sessions demonstrate), and offers a fairly typical selection from his repertoire - a mixture of originals, standards and the odd stride classic, with only material by Jelly Roll Morton missing. Ewell starts rather creakily with a slightly tentative version of the stride barnstormer "When Dreams Come True" (see versions by James P. Johnson, Donald Lambert or Dick Wellstood for more vigorous treatments), but soon warms up, particularly on medium tempo numbers such as "Old Fashioned Love" and "Blue Turning Grey Over You". The main flaw with this album is the piano. As with so many jazz venues, the 100 Club instrument at this point was poorly tuned and had a thin tone which dulls some of the impact of Ewell's style of playing. The track listing is also incorrect, with a brief spoken introduction not listed and every subsequent track therefore one number behind that listed.Some of Ewell's finest solo is not yet available on CD: until then, this CD is an acceptable substitute. However, if you are new to Ewell, buy one of the Good Time Jazz solo / trio / quartet CDs first!"