ANDRE PREVIN PLAYS JAZZ PIANO?

ANDRE PREVIN IS 80.

One of my favorite jazz piano players was interviewed on Charlie Rose PBS program the other day and he looks older than me - perhaps because he has been married 5 times. You probably didn't know that he is Woody Allen's father-in-law. Following his divorce from Mia Farrow, she began a relationship with the director Woody Allen. Allen's subsequent marriage to Previn and Farrow's adopted daughter Soon-Yi makes Previn his father-in-law.

Anyway, Previn made a solo jazz piano CD, several years ago that is one of his best. The title "Alone" is very fitting because the tonal patterns and arrangements on this disc are so powerful. He created this collection after his divorce from his fifth wife, the German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter.

You can listen to Andre Previn's "Alone" at Amazon and I recommend it highly.

While on the subject of Jazz...

The NYT recently wrote a glowing review of a nightclub performance by singer Jessica Molaskey accompanied by her husband, John Pizzarelli on guitar. John, his father, Bucky Pizzarelli and Jessica have performed in Santa Fe courtesy of our local jazz aficionados. In addition to being nice people they are terrific musicians. In these depressing times, I heartily recommend these three albums for mood brighteners - all from Amazon music (and you can listen to samples before you buy). (1) A Kiss To Build A Dream On  (2) Make Believe, and  (3) Dear Mr. Cole.

Treat yourself to some great listening. As Stephen Holden wrote in the NYT, "I could exhaust my list of superlatives describing how Ms. Molaskey and Mr. Pizzarelli’s musical and comedic repartee (at Birdland) sustains an easygoing sophistication that is unmatched in my nightclub experience."