Drawing inspiration from his piano heroes,
Benny Green
displays his immense taste and soulful restraint on his second solo piano album, 2023's aptly titled
Solo
. One of the most virtuosic and technically adept players of his generation,
Green
emerged to acclaim in the '80s playing a blend of athletic bebop and swinging stride piano that underscored his deep grasp of the work of players like
Art Tatum
,
Oscar Peterson
, and
Bud Powell
. He put these influences on display on 2001's
Green's Blues
, his first album of solo piano. Though his technical skill has never waned,
has matured in other, more nuanced ways as a player. His style has inched ever more toward a measured, deeply soulful place. His is an understated aesthetic that prizes melody and serving the song over a showy, note-heavy approach. It's that low-key, yet still impressive style he brings to
, an album that finds him paying tribute to the pianists who have inspired him. Early in his career,
garnered attention as one of the last pianists in
Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers
. Here, he invokes this legacy with his bluesy, gospel-infused take on "The Soulful Mr. Timmons," pianist and '80s
Messenger
James Williams
' homage to one of the original
pianists
Bobby Timmons
. It's a wry yet heartfelt start to the album and one which sets the tone for
's warm celebration of the piano lineage, of which he is a part. Throughout, he often evokes the style of the specific pianist he's interpreting, from the hard bop block chords of
Timmons
on "This Here" to the walking left-hand bassline on
Tommy Flanagan
's "Minor Mishap." Elsewhere,
offers warm, harmonically resonant takes on songs written by the pianists themselves, including
Cedar Walton
's "The Maestro,"
Horace Silver
's "Lonely Woman," and
Barry Harris
' "Rouge." These are tasty, superbly attenuated performances by
, whose respect for each player is evident in each note. ~ Matt Collar