How Do You Like This Piano Playing?

Review

In spite of his decades in the music business, pianist Hal Schaefer isn't exactly a household name. He has recorded sporadically under his own name, though he recorded with Stan Kenton and Benny Carter, took part in the historic RCA Jazz Workshop sessions, and served as vocal coach to Marilyn Monroe, as well as accompanying her, June Christy, and Peggy Lee. This CD comes from a privately produced tape that Schaefer made for himself circa 1960, though it lay forgotten in recent years until it was discovered in his tool shed. Fortunately, the tape survived the less than ideal storage facility, while Schaefer's improvised arrangements of seven familiar standards have also stood the test of time. Eschewing the usual approach to "There's No Business Like Show Business," the pianist takes it through several moods, getting a bit dissonant in spots, stretching the time and giving it a ruminative quality at its conclusion. His setting of "All the Things You Are" barely hints at the melody, adding a few Art Tatum-like runs and maintaining a low-key, often dark sound. This is a fascinating discovery of music by a veteran pianist who deserves wider recognition. ~ Ken Dryden, All Music Guide

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