The Bill Cunliffe Trio – Live at Bernie’s – Groove Note stereo-only SACD GRV1009-3, 1 hour *****:
(Bill Cunliffe, piano; Darek Oleszkiewicz, bass; Joe La Barbera, drums)
This was the first album to be recorded at Bernie Grundman’s Mastering Studio in LA – where all sorts of audiophile and other recordings have been mastered. It was recorded both on analog tape for release on vinyl, and using Sony’s DSD process for both stereo hybrid SACD and standard CD releases. When this session was recorded in 2001 Cunliffe had been performing with his other two trio members for over a decade, so this album documented where he was at musically.
In the past Cunliffe studied jazz piano with Mary Lou Williams, played with Buddy Rich, Frank Sinatra, Ray Brown, Joe Henderson and a host of others, as well as writing scores for TV and films, doing educational projects and creating big band charts. He has written works for and performed with several symphony orchestras. He’s also heavily into Brazilian jazz and recorded one CD in that country – Bill in Brazil.
Cunliffe’s classical background (Eastman School of Music) comes out in two of the ten tracks: an original which honors British composer John Ireland (titled merely Ireland), and a surprising performance of one of the four Excursions by Samuel Barber – not a composer whose themes frequently show up in the jazz world. In addition to the four originals by himself, Cunliffe has selected one by his bassist, one by Bill Evans, one by Ellington and closes with John Lennon’s Imagine.
The piano sound is rich and crystalline, the drums urge the music along but never sound overly strong, and the very melodic bass lines put down by Darek O. are a real pleasure to hear.
TrackList: Satin Doll, Waltz for Debby, Ireland, Amusing Paramours, Sharon, Jean, Excursions, Like a Dream, The Way You Look Tonight, Imagine.
– John Henry
