Spotlight: Bill Cunliffe

by Ernie Rideout (Keyboard Magazine)
Hearing Bill Cunliffe on CD is always a major treat - though all too rare - for in addition to his superb piano playing, you usually get his extremely clever arrangements, tailor-made for a hand-picked group of first-rate players. That's the case with this release, but what takes this CD from great to sublime is the source material, which are the compositions of Earl Zindars. Bill Evans favored a couple of Earl's tunes, notably, "How My Heart Sings," and the piano legend's recordings of that tune have earned Zindars a place in the Jazz Hall of Fame.