Exclamation Marks (!!!)

The music produced by the Hank Jones Trio is never nostalgic but firmly planted in the 'nineties, which seen from today, was truly a golden age for piano trios. If at the time you loved the trios of Tommy Flanagan, Cedar Walton, and Kenny Barron, for example, you already know what to expect from this magnificent live recording from the trio's performance at the Brassgroup Acireale Jazz Festival, July 17, 1991.

Hank Jones, the musician who writer Whitney Balliett said was widely regarded as the dean of jazz pianists, died at the age of 91 in May of 2010. Jones and his two brothers became one of the most remarkable families in jazz history; Elvin Jones played with John Coltrane and became one of the most influential jazz drummers, and Thad Jones played trumpet and co-led one of the most important big bands in the post-Big Band Era. In a career that saw Hank Jones performing with a virtual 'who's who' of jazz hierarchy; from Charlie Parker in the fifties through to Joe Lovano in 2007. He also served as Ella Fitzgerald's accompanist between 1947 and 1953.