Eric Reed - From My Heart

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:09
Size: 119,7 MB
Art: Front

(6:19) 1. Yesterday
(4:45) 2. Goodbye
(4:04) 3. I Should Care
(4:53) 4. Prelude in E minor
(5:39) 5. I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good
(4:20) 6. How Deep Is the Ocean?
(5:46) 7. I'll Never Stop Loving You
(6:31) 8. Flamenco Sketches
(5:21) 9. 'Round Midnight
(4:27) 10. I Fall in Love Too Easily

Reed is an expert at building tension (his formative years with Wynton Marsalis taught him well), and here he works some amazing technical runs up to a delicious release. An intriguing version of Chopin's "Prelude in E Minor" follows, with Reed gently easing Chopin's melody into a rich, increasingly dense solo. Reed gets back to basics with Duke Ellington's 1941 masterpiece "I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)," taking several playful choruses in the upper registers even hinting at Donaldson and Kahn's "Makin' Whoopee" at one point. Burno comes in for a nice melodic solo to take the tune out. Reed's take on the Irving Berlin classic "How Deep Is the Ocean" is equally playful, finding the pianist taking his time with the opening melody, using every little bit of space available for embellishment. Reed follows with a moving version of Cahn and Brodszky's "I'll Never Stop Loving You." From My Heart ends with odes to Miles Davis and Monk, with Reed covering Davis' "Flamenco Sketches" and Monk's "'Round Midnight" w with equal luster.

Of particular note is how Reed takes full advantage of the modal basis of "Flamenco Sketches," building lush chord structures, trills, and tremolo effects on top of each other for a heavy six and a half minutes. Reed does a stretching, gorgeous interpretation of "'Round Midnight," combining his own blazing technical prowess with an ode to Monk's quirky style. Brooks and Burno even go into a bossa nova on one of the last choruses. Reed finishes the album with a gentle, intimate version of Cahn and Styne's "I Fall in Love Too Easily," gracefully and subtly easing the melody in and out of his solo, until finally breaking into several more fine, melodic runs and upper structures to take the song out. From My Heart works as both an ode to several great composers and a fabulous exposition of Reed's ability to make even the most demanding ballads his own. While From My Heart may not have the usual Reed lineup of blazing horn players and original songs (Reed is a fine composer by any standard), it gives this talented pianist a chance to show that he is finally coming into his own as a stylist. ~ Alex Arcone http://www.allmusic.com/album/from-my-heart-mw0000214543

Personnel: Eric Reed (piano); Cecil Brooks III (drums).

From My Heart

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