Mike Garson, Monk Fell On Me (Volume Two), June 2013 -- Chicago, Illinois

Finding an original pianist who can front a jazz trio and not sound like myriad others is a daunting task. How many jazz pianists have a fresh voice? Well, Reggie Thomas does. His soulful, hard-swinging brand of piano immediately grabs the listener, imparting joy and a positive energy. Ballads? Yes, he also plays those flawlessly and does so in in this outing. Joining Mr. Thomas is a veteran rhythm section with Dennis Carrol on bass and George Fludas on drums. Dennis and George both support and complement Reggie’s piano artistry with excursions of their own. The result is a masterful trio creating exquisite music. The performance was captured with the finest custom (tube) and vintage microphones including a pair of legendary cardiod AKG 414 EB’s on piano, two AKG ULS’s on drums and a single AKG ULS on bass, directly to a highly modified Studer/Revox 8-track master recorder. The result is an audio and musical gem.

Where technology meets art

Mike Garson, Monk Fell On Me (Volume Two), June 2013 -- Chicago, Illinois

Recorded on the 5th and 6th of June 2013, this solo piano performance (the second of two tapes) features Mike Garson, one of the finest jazz pianists alive today. Referred to as the greatest rock and roll pianist of all time by David Bowie (with whom he toured) Mike interprets Thelonious Monk tunes in an intensely deep and modernistic approach. This is not cocktail jazz in any sense, but deeply advanced and probing music. Not foe the faint of heart. The result is stunning both musically and sonically. The session was recorded directly to two-track tape recorder using two vintage Neuman U67 microphones and a modified Studer 810 recorder. The sound on this release is close in and up front, so detail is clearly heard, yet it remains musical because of the quality of microphones and tape deck used, but more importantly because of the playing.