Search - Ray Bryant :: Solo Flight

Moody.

Tom | Palatine, IL USA | 07/19/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Yes, even more Ray.This one is a studio solo effort, and as usually , it's great.It's kinda moody though. The first cut, "In De Back Room," doesn't spring to life like it does on other albums, feeling more determined than lively.The whole album is like that. Sort of a bluesy, sepia toning of some Ray classics.The fourth cut, "Blues in De Big Brass Bed" is perhaps one of the finest Ray performances on any album. Both sad and passionate, this piece weaves through more than seven minutes of the kind of blues that would make the Hooker proud.There already is a Ray album called "Alone With The Blues," but were that name not taken, it might apply here.Good stuff."

Comes from Gospel and the Blues - but is not Derivative

Roger Crysler | Canada | 04/01/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Those words from the critics have stuck with me for a long time. OK, I like Blues music. Any piece of jazz, particularly piano, with the word "blues" in the title will likely be fine with me. So, Ray Bryant has been a favourite of mine for a long time.If there is one tune on this disc to recommend the whole album, it's St Louis Blues. The studio version here, while somewhat distant compared to the live Montreux version, can nevertheless make the claim that Ray Bryant owns this WC Handy tune. Discrete chord changes, dynamic range and time are all brilliant. Here's a jazz pianist doing a classic blues tune, coming from gospel and the blues himself, without being derivative. And distance can be a good thing, as it is here. This album is a good listen all the way through, and required listening for any Ray Bryant fan."