Warren Bernhardt
Bernhardt is a jazz pianist who has been around long enough to work with everyone from Paul Winter and Gerry Mulligan to James Brown, Tim Hardin and Carly Simon. (Playing at the White House with Winter's group in 1962, he was so energetic Jackie Kennedy told him, "I could hardly keep from wiggling around like you on the piano bench.") He also studied the classics as a boy, and on this collection of solo pieces, mostly improvisations and his own compositions, he brings all those influences into productive play. His style is contemplative, not unlike Keith Jarrett's, though Bernhardt is more likely to reach back for a swing passage than forward for rock or Latin rhythms. The title track is especially intriguing in its changes of mood, but the whole album is quietly splendid.
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