Benny Green - Benny's Crib - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

The art of constructing a solo recording is the ultimate challenge for most musicians. Pianist Benny Green believes that the challenge provides the ultimate inspiration, as he is free to take the music in whatever direction he chooses. For his first solo recording in twenty years, simply named Solo, Green finds himself reflecting on pieces by pianists who have inspired him over the decades.Over his career, Green has solidified himself as one of jazz music's premier piano stylists. His command of the bebop, post-bop, and swing styles was harnessed and cemented through years of study and apprenticeship alongside the music's best, including jazz masters Walter Bishop, Jr., Oscar Peterson, and Art Blakey, with whom he played as a member of the legendary Jazz Messengers.The pandemic allowed Benny Green to reassess his goals and approach to music. It also allowed him time to further investigate the music of his heroes so that he could reinterpret them on his new recording, Solo.

The Newport Jazz Festival had always brought the best out of Nina Simone. On July 2, 1966 the audience was treated to the full range of her artistry - from the opener, a breathtaking version of InchYou've Got To LearnInch to a swinging take on InchMississippi Goddam.Inch After the standing ovation, her fans were rewarded with the show-stopping encore, InchMusic For Lovers.Inch This previously unreleased recording makes it clear why hearing Nina Simone in concert was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

2018 . Although featured in a wide variety of performance arenas, Green is in his element and shines as the leader of the Benny Green Trio. With drumming master Kenny Washington and revered bassist David Wong completing the piano trio, Green commands the stage, delighting international audiences in his 38th year as a bandleader. It was only natural that this trio would become the springboard for Green's recent new musical adventures. A recording session led by prodigy vocalist Veronica Swift made such an impact on Green that he expanded his own generally instrumental traditions and began collaborating with both Swift and his trio. Green's authoritative skill at the keyboard and hard-swinging ensemble were the perfect sonic landscape for Swift's masterful musicianship and organic approach to scat singing, with Swift proving her voice was the perfect soloing instrument to complement Green's stylistic swing.