Cedar Walton Trio, Midnight Waltz (Venus)

[Dan Gould]

Threw this into an Amazon Christmas order and I'm glad I did. Anyone who digs Cedar in a trio setting should check out this program of all-superlative Walton compositions. Here's what our own Ken Dryden wrote for AMG:

During his long career, Cedar Walton has been one of hard bop's most lyrical pianists, as demonstrated on this 2005 trio session for the Japanese label Venus. No matter the tempo or approach, it is very easy to find oneself singing along with Walton's infectious melodies, whether it is the driving "Cedar's Blues," the lighthearted "Midnight Waltz," or his bossa nova salute to a great Brazilian composer "Theme for Jobim." That hardly means the remaining tracks are filler, as there isn't a weak selection present. "Dear Ruth" is a coy piece that must be named for someone special in Walton's life, as this work has a playful, yet reserved aura. Walton saves two of his best-known works for last, a intricate take of "Bolivia," followed by the showstopping finale "Ugetsu." Bassist David Williams and drummer Jimmy Cobb provide great support throughout this enjoyable session.

Its only available from Amazon as one of those made-to-order CDRs but they do a nice job on the printing, the only difference I can see is that Venus uses that heavy stock paper, and the price certainly is right at under $14.

Can't recommend this one highly enough!

[Stereojack]

I've got the Venus original of this - it's hard to go wrong with Cedar!