Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life - Various Artists
From 1938, until his death in 1967, composer/arranger/pianist Billy Strayhorn was so entwined with Duke Ellington that musicologists are still trying to figure out where the former ends and the latter begins. On this companion soundtrack to the PBS documentary, pianists Bill Charlap and Hank Jones display their solo chops on the stridish “Fantastic Rhythm” and the soulful “Satin Doll” and reprise the great Ellington-Strayhorn four-hand piano workout, “Tonk.” Vocalist Dianne Reeves and guitarist Russell Malone brilliantly navigate the harmonic challenges of the title track, while she and her rhythm section dance “Something to Live For” with an Ahmad Jamal bounce. Tenor saxophonist Ben Webster would approve of Joe Lovano’s quartet rendition of “Chelsea Bridge,” featuring Jones, bassist George Mraz, and drummer Paul Motian. Lovano and Charlap anchor Elvis Costello’s languid lyrics on “My Flame Burns Blue (Blood Count),” adding another interpretive layer to the eternal artistry of this compelling and confounding musician. –Eugene Holley, Jr.
