Search - Jeff Hamilton :: If Dreams Come True

Review by Michael Steinman One evening at Jazz at Chautauqua, after the musical festivities had concluded, Hamilton sat down at the piano, played a good chunk of an up-tempo rag and then turned to some expert, subtle classical playing. Both performances were light-hearted, but they revealed him as a highly accomplished pianist. I was greatly impressed with Hamilton's pianistic skills that night, but I had no opportunity to hear him improvise in a jazz context until now. Happily for all of us, If Dreams Come True would prove to anyone that he is as fine a jazz pianist as he is a drummer, and that's saying something. His solo showpieces, Liza, and Rosetta, both pieces close to Teddy Wilson's heart, reveal an irrepressible swing, wonderfully steady tempos (solo piano is difficult for all but the finest players to keep their compass), a light touch, and an ability to invent dancing alternative melodies that make familiar material seem fresh. Hamilton's stride playing has a powerful onward momentum, but he isn't ever overbearing. He isn't copying the records, but improvising on the tradition and bringing his own flavorings to it. Fittingly, the notes to this CD are by that satisfyingly idiosyncratic pianist Ray Skjelbred. Perhaps the finest testimony to Hamilton's mastery is how he plays well with others: how his playing offers a feeling commentary on Becky Kilgore's creamy, melting My Ideal, creating one of those lovely miniatures that I wanted to play several times before moving on to the next track. His CD presents one stirring, understated but compelling performance after another, primarily duets between Hamilton and a horn player, as well as three trio outings. On one, Eddie Erickson, Dan Barrett and Jeff Hamilton do Till There Was You, with Erickson superbly wistful, crooning his heart out. It is more evidence that Erickson is our Sinatra; I wait for someone to record him with a string quartet. Barrett, Kilgore, and Hamilton create a jaunty If I Were You, with the true 1938 Vocalion spirit. Kilgore, Bobby Gordon and Hamilton take off on the title track, which perhaps should be called When, not If, because this CD succeeds so well.