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The first in a three-part series of recordings from Dick Hyman, legendary pianist, organist, music director and all-around renowned musician. These recordings, originally intended to be part of a larger set featuring the music of the great composers of popular music, were made in the early '50s, and demonstrate both the excellence of Weill's songwriting and the inventiveness and style of Hyman's playing. We're happy to offer this album for the first time on CD.
"This is such a treat for Dick Hyman fans, I can't tell you how happy I was to finally get this. It's great to hear what he was doing 'way back when'."
-James Crane, NJ
"Hyman's deft phrasing is impeccable."
-George Harris, jazzweekly.com
In 1952 when he was 25, the great virtuoso pianist Dick Hyman, who was near the beginning of a very productive career, recorded a series of full-length albums that explored the music of several composers. Rather than pick the usual suspects (Gershwin, Porter, Berlin, etc.), he focused on writers who were best known for writing songs for the theater.
Kurt Weill (1900-50) would never think of himself as a jazz composer despite the fact that a few of his songs (“Speak Low,” “My Ship” and “This Is New”) became jazz standards. His biggest jazz “hit,” “Mack The Knife,” was originally sung in The Three Penny Opera as a somewhat scary ballad called “Moritat.” Louis Armstrong and Bobby Darin did not turn it into a swinging tune until years after Weill's death.
Born and raised in Germany as part of a Jewish family, Weill started taking piano lessons when he was 12 and wrote his first song a year later. He began to perform in public as a pianist in 1915 but found his voice through writing rather than playing music. He studied classical music in school and wrote his first string quartet when he was 18. Weill wrote classical works for the next few years, even as he struggled with his family in poverty. He had a variety of mostly musical jobs, teaching music theory and composition privately to students during 1923-25.
As the 1920s progressed, Weill became more involved with popular music and the theater, having several great successes, particularly 1928's The Threepenny Opera. But with the rise of the Nazis, he left Germany in March 1933. After a brief period in Paris, he eventually settled in the United States, becoming a citizen in 1943 and staying busy writing for the theater and occasional films.
While Weill's productions (such as A Kingdom For A Cow, The Eternal Road, Street Scene, Mahogany, Happy End, One Touch Of Venus, Lady in The Dark and Knickerbocker Holiday) are largely forgotten today, it is his music that lives on.
Review
"Dick Hyman performs solo piano versions of 14 Kurt Weill pieces on this CD. While a few of the songs are familiar (“Speak Low,” “Lost In The Stars,” “My Ship,” “This Is New” and “September Song”), most of the other tunes are rarely performed but well worth reviving. Such numbers as “It Never Was You,” “Sing Me Not A Ballad” and “How Much I Love You” are quite obscure but are typical of Kurt Weill's best work, having haunting melodies and original chord changes. Dick Hyman does justice to all of the music, keeping the melody close by while coming up with tasteful and swinging variations. As a bonus, the CD has the original liner notes from 1952 and they are quite definitive. " -Scott Janow
"Long known as a virtuoso pianist who can play in any style but chose to focus on stride and swing, Dick Hyman has had a longer career than many would expect. In 1952 he recorded a trio of solo albums, each of which focused on the music of a different composer. September Song features Hyman performing 14 Kurt Weill pieces. Hyman balances interpretations of some of Weill's better known pieces (including "Speak Low," "My Ship" and "This Is New) with such superior obscurities as "It Never Was You," "Sing Me Not A Ballad" and 'How Much I Love You." -Scott Janow
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