Search - Art Hodes :: Tribute to the Greats

Art Hodes (1904-93) was active in the Chicago since its 1920s jazz heyday, with a reputation as a scrappy defender of classic jazz values. The piano solos here, recorded between 1976 and 1978, pay tribute to early jazz heroes, from King Oliver to Cab Calloway. He doesn't imitate them--the honorees include few pianists--but makes his feelings plain via affectionate readings of songs they wrote or popularized. A barroom pianist of great charm, Hodes favored unhurried tempos, ringing right-hand chords, and leisurely left-hand commentary, but he could also whip off short bass runs fast enough to move at a blur ("Jackass Blues") without upsetting his dependable pulse. Beyond that, he's always attentive to melody and to shifting details of rhythm, harmony, and dynamics, aided by a precise touch at the keyboard, and the ability to call up reserves of manic energy to punch a tune through to the end, à la Earl Hines. His blues, stomps, and strolls sound newly minted: he evokes the old days without rinky-dink mustiness. --Kevin Whitehead