John Hicks was 51 when, in 1993, he recorded
Beyond Expectations for the independent Reservoir label, and at that age no one was demanding that the veteran pianist reinvent the jazz wheel. However, it wasn't unreasonable to ask that he show some imagination when it came to choosing material. Some of
Hicks' '90s albums placed too much emphasis on overdone warhorses, and that is true of
Beyond Expectations. Leading an acoustic piano trio that employs
Ray Drummond on bass and
Marvin "Smitty" Smith on drums,
Hicks doesn't offer a lot of surprises. Most of the songs that he embraces (which range from
Horace Silver's "Peace" to "There Is No Greater Love" and "Every Time We Say Goodbye") have been recorded time and time again over the years. But while this CD isn't very adventurous, it is still solid and enjoyable. Yes,
Hicks is too reliant on warhorses, and instead of yet another version of "Stella by Starlight," how about surprising listeners with some less-obvious choices? How about finding the hard bop/post-bop possibilities in
Stevie Wonder and
Marvin Gaye or unearthing some of
Duke Ellington and
Antonio Carlos Jobim's lesser-known jewels? No one is demanding that
Hicks be a trendsetting innovator -- he should stick to hard bop and post-bop because that's what he does best -- but it would be nice to hear him make less-obvious choices when it comes to picking material. Nonetheless,
Hicks is still a warm, soulful, expressive improviser and he certainly has a great sound -- one that is greatly influenced by
McCoy Tyner yet is recognizably
John Hicks. Contrary to what its title suggests,
Beyond Expectations isn't the
Hicks album to end all
Hicks albums. But it's a pleasing, if conventional, document of the pianist at 51. ~ Alex Henderson