"Jan Lundgren History of Jazz Piano On this beautifully realised tribute to 14 of the jazz pianists who inspired him, Jan Lundgren shows that he is the equal of such players as Jaki Byard and Dick Hyman in conjuring up the distinctive styles of keyboard greats. But not even Byard or Hyman quite achieved the exactness and authenticity of touch, phrasing and method that Lundgren manages here with seemingly effortless ease. These are performances that show a quite astounding depth of sympathetic understanding with his subjects.
He opens this solo recital in front of an attentive and appreciative audience with a scene-setting Tenderly which is exactly how he treats each subsequent interpretation related to a specific artist, beginning with his earliest role model, Oscar Peterson, and continuing through musical statements dedicated to Duke Ellington, Teddy Wilson, Erroll Garner, George Shearing, Bengt Hallberg, Art Tatum, Bud Powell, John Lewis, Jan Johansson, Pete Jolly (with whom Jan recorded the ultimate two piano session), Bill Evans, McCoy Tyner and Keith Jarrett. Most pianists can evoke Erroll Garner at the drop of a request, but it is quite another matter to reflect the most subtle nuances of Ellington, Wilson, Hallberg or Lewis. And to be able to switch so convincingly from one pianistic genre to another for the duration of an entire recital. His treatments reflect both an emotional commitment and an intelligent appreciation.
His extraordinarily accurate evocations of Peterson, Tatum and Powell demonstrate that his technique stands up to the most severe of examinations. But he is also able to simulate the delicacy of expression one associates with the works of Lewis and Evans, the dancing quality of Wilson and the undervalued inventiveness of Shearing. For anyone with a love of jazz piano through its many individual phases, this set is an absolute joy, because underlying every vignette there is Lundgren’s own creativity which is never masked by his admiration for all these giants. For this listener, the most affecting performance here is Jan’s account of Billy Strayhorn’s Lotus Blossom which is on a par with Ellington’s own memorable readings of this luminous melody. You can detect the player’s strong personal feeling for his late collaborator Pete Jolly in the lyrical treatment of I’ve Never Been in Love Before. I can’t recommend this gem too highly."
