Sir Roland Hanna was busy in the recording studios during the late '70s, as a number of different labels recognized his tremendous chops in a wide range of styles. Most of
Impressions, put out by Black & Blue, is devoted to a trio session with bassist
Major Holley and drummer
Alan Dawson, kicking off with a brisk take of
Cole Porter's "I Love You" and
Sigmund Romberg's "Lover, Come Back to Me." Although "Body and Soul" is all but owned by tenor saxophonist
Coleman Hawkins for his famous 1939 record,
Hanna turns in a whirlwind solo piano interpretation that stands on its own merit.
John Coltrane's "Impressions" is not typically heard in a piano trio setting, but it works wonderfully with
Holley's driving bass and
Dawson's inventive percussion in support of the leader's furious solo.
Hanna's blues-drenched "The Lonely Ones" sounds like the perfect closing timepiece, though the CD reissue of this track is marred by wowing in the master tape. This reissue adds two bonus tracks, a gospel-influenced take of
Miles Davis' "All Blues" and the Gershwins' "Isn't It a Pity," taken from an unrelated trio date with bassist George Duvivier and drummer
Oliver Jackson. Recommended. [This version of the album includes bonus material.] ~ Ken Dryden