Apparently Geoff had suggested a standards trio and I was not alone in thanking him for it. Jazzers can become a bit blasé about our American songbook but when it's played with this delicacy and beauty and awareness of the great players that precede us this can be a thing of great beauty, immense subtlety and respect for history. Thus it was with Hannah James and her return to Canberra with her standards piano trio with Adrian Keevil and Paul Derricott. Just beautiful melodies played with respect, an array of great solos and a few traded fours. Oscar Peterson, Mulgrew Miller, Horace Silver, Ray Brown, Tommy Flanagan: what's not to like and to swing to. And some tunes that can be cheesy but just sat so nicely of the likes of Tea for two or Love for sale or Mean to me or some lesser knowns like NY attitude or It never entered my mind or something a bit funky with Mulgrew Miller Soul-Leo and that lovely transition that I think her offsiders didn't even expect, when Hannah sat on a repeated G on the 4/4 beat of Here's that rainy day that subtly mutated to the 3/4 of Moon river, a heartache favourite of mine, continuing to a solo and melody almost obliviously. The room was swooning and the playing was delicious and Hannah's solos were understated and instructive. Just lovely and I'm hanging out to revisit it in the mix. Thanks, Hannah.
Hannah James (bass) led a piano trio with Adrian Keevil (piano) and Paul Derricott (drums) at Smiths.
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