Although
Dick Hyman has the ability to play quite credibly in most jazz styles, he has spent much of the 1980s and '90s performing stride and swing. This release, a trio date with guitarist
Howard Alden and bassist
Bob Haggart, was a change of pace, for
Hyman plays mostly in a more boppish and modern mainstream vein. In the wide repertoire, the pianist ranges from "Django" and a pair of
Thelonious Monk tunes to
Flip Phillips' "The Claw,"
Billy Strayhorn's "Lotus Blossom," and two of his originals. The music is excellent, if not overly memorable. ~ Scott Yanow