Search - Joe Sullivan :: 1945-1953

Joe Sullivan, swing piano master

Bomojaz | South Central PA, USA | 06/13/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"When you listen to Joe Sullivan's piano playing, you often hear two other masters as well: Fats Waller in his left hand and Earl Hines in his right. He admired and listened carefully to both throughout his career. This CD, the third in Classics' complete works of Sullivan in chronological order, collects a Disc session from 1945 with Sidney Bechet, a piano trio 10-inch Epic LP from 1952, and mostly solo performances he made for Riverside in 1953.



The best music here is the Epic stuff. Sullivan performs well in the trio setting, with the rhythm section framing his work nicely. In fact, George Wettling, who plays brushes on these 8 titles, is wonderful to listen too - so delicate yet steady. WHAT'S YOUR NAME is a medium swinger, and CAN'T WE GET TOGETHER and THERE'LL COME A TIME WHEN YOU'LL NEED ME, both done slightly faster, are exceptional and highlight the CD. The 4 sides with Bechet are okay, nothing extraordinary, though Bechet, playing clarinet, squeaks on GOT IT AND GONE, the only time I can ever remember him doing that on record. The Riverside solo sides suffer from Sullivan's desire to play the first half of most of the tunes out of tempo or very slowly with a lot of embellishment before getting to the song proper - something he doesn't (couldn't) do with a rhythm section. A couple of the Riverside selections ARE trio pieces, and are much better, especially GIN MILL BLUES, a slow 12-bar blues that builds in power with each chorus. Sullivan was a delightful piano player and, although slightly past his prime here, this CD dishes up some fine piano jazz in the swing tradition.

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