From the Heart

Album review

When a recording by the legendary blind Chicago jazz pianist Chris Anderson is released, it is not merely product on the marketplace, but an event. As the early mentor for Herbie Hancock and an influence on Sun Ra, Anderson deserves recognition for his own music, rich in harmonic invention and patient and thoughtful discourse. He's urged onward by an imagination that defies the modern mainstream or early creative elements as he defines this music on his own terms. This solo piano recording of seven standards from 1998 in New York City is a prime example of why Anderson has garnered so much admiration from his peers. As an interpreter in this instance, Anderson chooses to take his time for the most part and fully explore the nuances and sidebar chordal elements of these familiar melodies. He's fond of adding stride piano inferences during the steady version of "Just Friends" or the playful "I Wished on the Moon," using common 4/4 time, but with no strict adherence to stiff metronomic beats. There's more an implication of rhythm, like listening to his own internal clock, as displayed on the deconstructed "Here's That Rainy Day" or the 11-and-a-half-minute, unhurried, perfectly evocative "There's a Lull in My Life." He switches up a bit during "Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year," again expressing the idea of the title with staggered phrasings and delayed warmth in favor of extrapolated content that becomes crystal clear upon close listening. Anderson sings "In Love in Vain" unsuccessfully, as his gruff, rough, non-enunciated voice does not effectively render this chestnut. Otherwise, except for some background guttural throat clearings, the recording is pleasing, in many ways a revelation, and a jewel in demonstrating Anderson's wry and wonderful piano musings. This CD is especially valuable as an educational or instructional tool for students, perhaps alongside a Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans, or Herbie Nichols album for contrast.

© Michael G. Nastos /TiVo