Charles Gayle has gained fame as a very passionate avant-garde tenor saxophonist, but this CD is something much different. The set is dedicated to the music of his youth, the songs from the 1930s and '40s that he heard at home.
Gayle is reborn, temporarily, as a surprisingly effective pianist. Most of the selections he performs are standards and, although his improvisations are abstract, he does pay respect to the melodies and keeps the themes in mind.
Gayle does not strictly follow the chord structures and his soloing is often thoughtful and out of time, even including some atonal striding. This is about as accessible a recording as
Charles Gayle will ever make and it is generally both surprising and successful in its own way. ~ Scott Yanow