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The art of constructing a solo recording is the ultimate challenge for most musicians. Pianist Benny Green believes that the challenge provides the ultimate inspiration, as he is free to take the music in whatever direction he chooses. For his first solo recording in twenty years, simply named Solo, Green finds himself reflecting on pieces by pianists who have inspired him over the decades.Over his career, Green has solidified himself as one of jazz musics premier piano stylists. His command of the bebop, post-bop, and swing styles was harnessed and cemented through years of study and apprenticeship alongside the musics best, including jazz masters Walter Bishop, Jr., Oscar Peterson, and Art Blakey, with whom he played as a member of the legendary Jazz Messengers.Greens regular pianist pursuits usually found him playing and touring with a trio. When the quarantine stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic shut the door on the touring world, Green isolated like so many musicians. Isolation led to Greens need to connect with an audience. He began posting to Facebook many musings about music and life, along with a concentrated practice on solo material. Once opportunities allowed, Green came back to live performance, focusing on solo playing. This wasnt Greens first attempt at solo playing. He released Greens Blues (Telarc, 2001) as a young player aiming to show the world his mettle. Since that time, Greens focus has shifted. Rather than try to keep up with a younger generation of pianists aiming to outdo one another with pyrotechnics, Green decided to focus on cultivating his personal best in performance. This led him to focus on mid-tempo tunes and ballads, where he could respect the songs melodies and give his most thoughtful interpretation.As he began growing his solo repertoire, Green found himself more and more drawn to music created by pianist/composers. Green is a completist collector of these individuals and has studied the arcs of their careers, fascinating himself with their development and their self-care later in their careers, a facet of his development that has become important to him over the past few years.The best inspiration for a challenging project usually comes from introspection. The pandemic allowed Benny Green to reassess his goals and approach to music. It also allowed him time to further investigate the music of his heroes so that he could reinterpret them on his new recording, Solo.
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