ELDAR DJANGIROV: Three Stories
Sony Masterworks, 2011

JAZZ/CLASSICAL – Solo piano. Eldar first burst onto the jazz scene at age 12 and had a major-label deal by the time he was 17, powered by Art Tatum pyrotechnics and laser-etched technique. Now approaching his mid-twenties, he’s starting to show a bit of life experience and depth too. This CD drags in the middle, but there are some fine tracks.

Fo’s Picks: 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 13

1. 5:11 – jazz standard: prancing over the keys, picks up locomotive stride
2. 3:56 – Bach prelude: super speedy and impeccably crisp
3. 5:49 – jazz standard: music-box intro, fragile impressionist fantasy
4. 5:00 – Chick Corea ballad: airy, dreamy; classical touches, Coltrane quotes
5. 5:49 – Scriabin etude: lush and sad, comes in waves
6. 4:54 – Thelonious Monk transformed: invokes Gershwin, stride, waltz, more
7. 5:43 – original tune, a dancing classical tone poem with several moods
8. 4:18 – Dave Matthews pop song: rolling, light and warm
9. 4:33 – Gershwin standard: flowing and very relaxed, flies into daydream
10. 3:33 – original tune, soft and delicate but with one heavy late surge
11. 2:58 – Bach air, abstracted: drifting with poetic style
12. 5:46 – original tune: lively pace, undulating in soft curves
13. 14:59 – “Rhapsody in Blue” played straight and with plenty of verve
14. 3:20 – Charlie Parker bebop has a casual, tossed-off air but blazing speed

[ Fo ] 06/19/11