Search - Ralph Sutton :: At St George Church

Entertaining, Swinging, and Enjoyable Stride Piano - 4.5 sta

John Tapscott | Canada | 10/20/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Ralph Sutton at St. George Church, Bristol England" from 1992 is a typical Sutton solo recital, which is to say, entertaining, swinging, and highly enjoyable. This 2 CD set on Arbors was originally recorded for BBC radio broadcast in a very fine acoustical space on what Sutton described as "the best piano I ever played on."



Sutton's repertoire varied only slightly from concert to concert, and recording to recording, but always comprised a strong selection of stride and swing favorites by composers such as Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Willie "The Lion" Smith, Willard Robison and W.C. Handy. Besides stride specialities such as "Viper's Drag" and Honeysuckle Rose", Sutton indulges the reflective side of his musical personality quite often in this set, on selections such as "Love Lies", "Old Folks" and "Cottage For Sale". Often the gentler approach develops into heady stride as in the opening "Tea for Two", "Dinah" and the Duke Ellington medley which ends the first half of the concert. Ralph devotes much of the second half of the concert to tunes and spoken reflections of Willie "The Lion" Smith, and a medley of Fats Waller tunes. But there is also a version of "When I Grow Old To Dream" which is a mid-tempo swinging delight. The concert closes with a romping version of "Eye Opener" and down home take on "St Louis Blues", which develops into a real stomp.



Sutton had played all these tunes a thousand times of course, but manages here (and always) to bring them to life with a sense of joy and discovery. Furthermore, his interesting and entertaining spoken parts establish a friendly rapport with the audience. This concert set is enhanced both by Alyn Shipton's spoken parts which were part of the radio broadcast and his comprehensive liner notes.



Ralph Sutton recorded many fine solo piano CD's and this well recorded recital is a welcome addition to his recorded legacy. "Ralph Sutton at St. George Church" is highly recommended to his fans, and a good place to start for those wanting to discover Ralph Sutton's magic."