I consider myself a devoted Hank Jones fan. The pianist’s conception, which drew on Art Tatum, Nat King Cole, and Bud Powell, is one of the most elegant and engaging in modern jazz. Saxophonist Joe Lovano, who worked extensively with him for 15 years, told NPR that Jones was a player of “deep passion and searching approach,” and said that the imaginative flow and logic of his solos made him one of “the most creative improvisers in jazz.” In 2004, Hank told the jazz journalist Dan Ouellette, “I’m not into the hard driving style. I’m about trying to appeal to people who appreciate the subtleties of jazz.”
I’ve got a couple of dozen CD’s by Jones and saw him in person about 20 times. He’d already endeared himself to me by the time I heard him on a crisp Saturday evening at the Knickerbocker in New York around 1979. Like Bradley’s, its counterpart on the opposite side of University Place, the Knickerbocker was usually filled with what Whitney Balliett called “driven conversationalists,” so hearing the ivories, even when the ticklers were among the greatest alive, was often a challenge. On this occasion, the room was packed, but from what I observed, I was about the only person paying close attention to him. At one point between tunes, Hank and I made eye contact and exchanged a smile, and from thereon I felt like I was treated to a personal recital.
That was 35 years ago. Ever since, I’ve continued to pay close attention to Mr. Jones on record, the new titles, the reissues, his sideman appearances, and his sublime collaborations with Lovano, Charlie Haden, and Roberta Gambarini. Of course, the flow of new material has ceased since Hank died in 2010, but I keep discovering new gems, including his 2004 release on Justin Time Records, For My Father, which I’d somehow managed to overlook till a few weeks ago. Now I’m delighting in the oversight as an unanticipated motherlode of new treasure.
The set is rich with material by jazz players Al Foster, Tom Harrell, Harold Mabern, Milt Jackson, and James Black along with Monk, Duke, and Strayhorn. For good measure, there’s a Porter and Romberg among the disc’s 12 titles, all of which we’ll hear in tonight’s Jazz à la Mode. Hank’s trio mates are George Mraz, who turns 70 today, and Dennis Mackrel. Here’s the album’s tasty opener, a groovy little gem by master drummer by Al Foster.