Time: 39:41
Size: 90.9 MB
Styles: Mainstream jazz
Year: 1965/2010
Art: Front
[4:50] 1. Water Boy
[2:48] 2. Oh Bess, Oh Where's My Bess
[3:24] 3. In A Moonrish Marketplace
[4:23] 4. The Man I Love
[5:10] 5. This Nearly Was Mine
[4:19] 6. Blue Skies
[3:31] 7. Adieu Madraz
[3:56] 8. By Myself
[3:05] 9. Freedom
[4:11] 10. When Your Lover Has Gone
Bass – Ken Fricker; Cello – Juri Taht; Piano – Don Shirley.
Employing the rather unusual configuration of cello and bass combined with his piano for Waterboy, one of three albums Don Shirley recorded for Columbia Records during the 1960s. This trio setup is consistent with Shirley's training as a classical pianist as well as his compositional record with that genre of music. Shirley is the composer of three symphonies, two piano concerti, and three string quartets, among other pieces. He holds a Ph.D. in music (and one in psychology). In sum, his playing can be characterized as a cross between Art Tatum and Artur Rubenstein.
Shirley's playing on this album reveals his wide breadth of interpretative interests and skills. In fact, the performances are so wide ranging, one wonders which track is the real Don Shirley. On the title tune, Avery Robinson's arrangement of the old prison tune "Waterboy" the trio expresses the flavor of the thud of the mallet on the rocks that prisoners are compelled to split. In contrast, Shirley becomes appropriately introspective and ruminating on "By Myself." On his own "Adieux Madraz," Shirley recalls his West Indian heritage. With his impressive and wide ranging educational background, his linguistic abilities (he supposedly speaks eight languages), and his interest in a wide variety of music, Shirley is a man for all seasons, including a piano virtuoso. But sometimes the virtuosity overwhelms the music and is more than some songs can tolerate. Some tunes are simple and their musical message can be lost when their playing is overly embellished as on "The Man I Love." The playing is dazzling to the point of inundating the essence of this Gershwin piece. After a self-enforced sabbatical, Shirley is actively performing again. Reacting to the renewed interest in his work, the Golden Classics label is reissuing many of the LPs he made for Cadence during the 1950s. ~Dave Nathan
Employing the rather unusual configuration of cello and bass combined with his piano for Waterboy, one of three albums Don Shirley recorded for Columbia Records during the 1960s. This trio setup is consistent with Shirley's training as a classical pianist as well as his compositional record with that genre of music. Shirley is the composer of three symphonies, two piano concerti, and three string quartets, among other pieces. He holds a Ph.D. in music (and one in psychology). In sum, his playing can be characterized as a cross between Art Tatum and Artur Rubenstein.
Shirley's playing on this album reveals his wide breadth of interpretative interests and skills. In fact, the performances are so wide ranging, one wonders which track is the real Don Shirley. On the title tune, Avery Robinson's arrangement of the old prison tune "Waterboy" the trio expresses the flavor of the thud of the mallet on the rocks that prisoners are compelled to split. In contrast, Shirley becomes appropriately introspective and ruminating on "By Myself." On his own "Adieux Madraz," Shirley recalls his West Indian heritage. With his impressive and wide ranging educational background, his linguistic abilities (he supposedly speaks eight languages), and his interest in a wide variety of music, Shirley is a man for all seasons, including a piano virtuoso. But sometimes the virtuosity overwhelms the music and is more than some songs can tolerate. Some tunes are simple and their musical message can be lost when their playing is overly embellished as on "The Man I Love." The playing is dazzling to the point of inundating the essence of this Gershwin piece. After a self-enforced sabbatical, Shirley is actively performing again. Reacting to the renewed interest in his work, the Golden Classics label is reissuing many of the LPs he made for Cadence during the 1950s. ~Dave Nathan
Water Boy mc
Water Boy zippy
