Pianist
Steve Kuhn, accompanied by
David Finck and
Billy Drummond, explore classical works by a number of top composers from the 19th and 20th centuries on this Japanese release, though they are used as a launching pad for improvisation.
Maurice Ravel's "Pavane for a Dead Princess" is recast as a soft samba, also incorporating a bit of an earlier standard that was derived from the French Impressionist's piece, "The Lamp Is Low."
Chopin is obviously one of
Kuhn's favorite classical composers, as three of his features, highlighted by a dreamy setting of "Nocturne in E Flat Major, Op. 9, No. 2." He brightens the tempo of
Claude Debussy's "Reverie" while retaining its lyricism, while slowing
Johannes Brahms' "Lullaby" to a crawl and demonstrating how a master jazz pianist utilizes space as an element of improvisation. Classical purists are always upset with jazz arrangements of "their" music, but anyone who loves both musical worlds will appreciate
Steve Kuhn's thoughtful arrangements of music that has easily stood the test of time.