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"moments in Jazz History captured by Gaslight Records"

J. Lovins | Missouri-USA | 02/26/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This time we have two well known pianist under one roof ~ Ralph Sutton and his sister, Barbara Sutton Curtis sharing the keyboards at the Bistro Europa in St. Louis, Mo. ~ backup on bass is Keter Betts and on drums Frank Capp fusing together some of the best jazz around town. Sutton has a way of bringing his own style within the boundaries of his heroes Fats Waller and James P. Johnson, setting the stage for an exciting experience in the world of jazz.We can only savor tunes like ~ "AIN'T MISBEHAVIN'" (Fats Waller/Razaf), "BASIN STREET BLUES" (Williams), "BROTHER CAN YOU SPARE A DIME?" (Gourney/Harburg), "CRAZY RHYTHM" (Caesar/kahn/Meyer), "DON'T LET THE SUN CATCH YOU CRYIN'" (Greene), "FAREWELL BLUES" (Mares/Roppolo), "FINE AND DANDY" (James/Swift), "GEORGIA ON MY MIND" (Hoagy Carmichael), "HONKY TONK TRAIN" (Lewis), "I WANT A LITTLE GIRL" (Mencher/Moll), "MEAN TO ME" (Ahlert/Turk), "ST. LOUIS BLUES" (Handy), "S'POSIN" (Denniker/Razaf) and "SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET" (Fields/McHugh) ~ this delectable treat is captured with the adrenaline pumping before a live audience. Ralph's genuinely improvising style influenced by Waller with his stride approach and his powerful left hand.This is the third volume in a Jazz Series presented by Gaslight Records, recorded live September 29th and 30th 2000 in St. Louis. Great job by Gaslight Records for preserving this moment in musical jazz history. These two Missourians have captured the essence of what Jazz is all about, cannot think of any performers around today who could have delivered the goods like this group of musicians...gotta love it!Total Time: 64:26 on 14 Tracks ~ Gaslight Records 5003 ~ (2/19/2002)"