I Got Rhythm: Live at the Jazz Showcase in Bloomington, MN

Arguably,
Joe Segal
's
Jazz Showcase
is to Chicago what
the Village Vanguard
is to New York: the city's most legendary and prestigious
jazz
club (which isn't to take anything away from
the Green Mill
,
the Bop Shop
, and other well-respected Windy City
venues).
The Jazz Showcase
regularly attracts
's major names, so it isn't surprising that
Delmark
would record more than one
Sir Charles Thompson
album there. First came 2000's
Robbins' Nest: Live at the Jazz Showcase
, then, in 2001,
recorded and released
I Got Rhythm
, which has the same subtitle. This
swing
-to-
bop
CD finds an 83-year-old
Thompson
joined by the same musicians who accompany him on
Robbins' Nest
; the veteran pianist forms an acoustic trio with bassist
Ed de Haas
and drummer
Charles Braugham
, and the trio becomes a quartet when saxman/clarinetist
Eric Schneider
is featured on seven selections. Not many surprises occur -- most of the standards that
picks have been recorded countless times over the years, and his style of playing hasn't changed much since the '40s. But then, no one expects him to reinvent the wheel at 83. While
is predictable, it is also pleasing.
's chops have obviously held up well over the years, and he is as expressive on swinging up-tempo fare (including
"Sometimes I'm Happy,"
the Gershwin Brothers
'
"I Got Rhythm,"
and
Lester Young
"Jumpin' With Symphony Sid"
) as he is on lyrical, introspective performances of well-known
ballads
like
"What's New"
Hoagy Carmichael
"Stardust"
(one of the loveliest songs of the 20th century). Like
I Got Rhythm: Live at the Jazz Showcase
falls short of essential, but is a solid effort that
's hardcore followers will have no problem appreciating. ~ Alex Henderson