My Romance

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A rare session from Chicago pianist Chris Anderson – a hell of a player on the ivories, but one who's been woefully under-recorded over the years! This gem was originally cut for Vee Jay in 1960, but not issued until many years later for this Japanese release – and we're extremely puzzled as to why the set never came out at the time, because it's excellent work throughout, at a level that should have made Anderson a real star! There's a depth and sensitivity here that recalls Ahmad Jamal at his early best – an approach to the keys that's fluid, but never flowery – and which has enough of a groove overall to keep the focus of the tunes at all times, yet also let Anderson take off in wonderful flights of improvisation. Backing is by Bill Lee on bass and Art Taylor on drums – and Taylor's work here is especially nice, often using mallets and softer touches to shade the tunes with a very gentle rhythm – an approach that's quite unusual for Art on record during this stretch. Titles are mostly all standards – save for Lee's "Monica" – but they're nicely transformed by Anderson with his magic on the keys. Titles include "Love Letters", "Soon", "So In Love", "I Could Write A Book", and "A Fellow Needs A Girl".  © 1996-2024, Dusty Groove, Inc.