Adam Makowicz has long dazzled audiences, both with his classical concert repertoire and his abilities as a virtuoso jazz pianist in the mold of
Art Tatum. The Polish expatriate, who has long called the United States home, joined forces with the younger Polish pianist
Leszek Mozdzer for a 2004 concert in the Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall. The senior pianist plays first, offering a rollicking reworking of
Fryderyk Chopin's Prelude No. 24 in D minor that would have pleased
Tatum, followed by an intricate reworking of
Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu that makes it sound as if it were a ballad conceived during the swing era.
Mozdzer joins
Makowicz for a trio of
Chopin preludes, likewise jazzing the classics, but avoiding the possible train wrecks that await many jazz pianists in such a setting.
Mozdzer probably raised a few eyebrows with his solo interpretation of
Makowicz's signature composition, "Tatum On My Mind," but his arrangement of the senior man's work is anything but a carbon copy, especially with the loose rhythmic structure of his introduction. The remainder of the concert features the two men together, including gems from the Great American Songbook such as a romp through "The Surrey With the Fringe on Top," a shimmering take of "Some Other Time," a
Tatum-flavored "Begin the Beguine," and a rather exotic dash through "Caravan." Their surprise encore is the moody "Rosemary's Baby." Though issued in Poland, this impressive CD is readily available online. ~ Ken Dryden