Dick Hyman Trio - Cheek to Cheek

1996 CD release.

Doctor Dick Hyman (he was granted an honorary degree in 1996 by Wilkes College), one of the master jazz musicians of our time, debuts as a leader on Arbors Records. His playing is a virtual encyclopedia of the history of jazz piano and if there is a pianist, or for that matter a musician on any instrument, who comes close to doing everything best, it is Dick. The sheer scope of his playing amazes musicians, particularly pianists, and it is enhanced on this recording by his interplay with the members of his trio, Howard Alden on guitar and Bob Haggart on bass.

Cheek to Cheek contains the most diverse repertoire ever performed by Dick on a single recording, including works by Thelonious Monk, Billy Strayhorn, John Lewis, Flip Phillips, Bob Haggart, show tunes by Cole Porter, Jerome Kern and Irving Berlin and two originals of his own. It is a virtuoso performance whose subtleties bear repeated listening.

Here is what the critics have to say:
Selected as one of the best records of 1997 in the January 1998 issue of Bulletin of the Hot Club of France; by John Sutherland as a 1997 Writer«s Choice in the January/February 1998 issue of Coda. Selected as a 1998 Critics« Choice in Jazz Journal International in the February, 1999 issue by critic Floyd Levin.