Search - Al Haig, Bill Crow, Lee Abrams :: Esoteric

Unbelievably spectacular arpeggios, wonderful melodies

rash67 | USA | 12/25/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Al Haig is the great forgotten man of Jazz in general and Bebop in particular. Always the Cool head in the hyper-hot media of Bebop, Haig seems to exist simultaneously in two or three tempos at the same time. His effortless, intuitive playing seemed to be moving ten steps ahead of everyone else! He was everywhere in the '45-51 years, playing with everyone. In 1945, at 21 or so he wowed Dizzy Gillespie and became his favorite pianist then going to Charlie Parker, who both got heat from the black community for selecting a white pianist, rather than a black. But to their credit, Gillespie and Parker listen to his music rather than the voices of intolerance. He moved on to play a for a year or more with Stan Getz in the '49-51 timeframe. (He is, after perhaps Kenny Barron, Getz best pianist). Shortly afterwards, for unknown reasons, he vanished for years, resurfaced in '54 to cut this and then vanished for a decade. He vanished again and returned in '74 recording until his death in 82, but after the 50's he was pretty much forgotten. It is difficult to find stuff under his name, despite it's marvellous quality. A lyrical and romantic pianist at heart, Haig would play the melodic line of a jazz standard, an inside line, and then play an unimaginably fast, but well articulated group of 132nd notes in arpeggio, the without missing a beat continue near the melody. And when he play the fast notes, he plays with this incredible touch where each of these notes is played with flawless pressure and emphasis. As in "April in Paris", "Body and Soul", but really everywhere on the album. His playing of "Autumn in New York" is particularly haunting. The good news for this album is the amazing performances of Jazz Standards, all are gems. Deserves 10 stars. The bad news is the so-so recording quality cries out for a better digital remix. The other problem is the CD is difficult to find. But it's well worth the effort for anyone who likes Bill Evans, Brad Mehldau, Kenny Barron and other Cool and Bepop pianists. Haig plays as well or better than them all! (I wonder if he vanished because other pianists with less talent and technique were getting all the critical praise?)Find it. You'll love it!!"