Pianist
Szakcsi found his initial fame playing new age, but this GRP CD shows that he was careful not to lose his jazz chops. In a trio with bassist
Jay Leonhardt and drummer
Marvin "Smitty" Smith (
Tim Warfield guests on tenor during two songs),
Szakcsi really challenged himself on this date, not only finding something fresh to say on "Body and Soul" and tackling
Thelonious Monk's "Brilliant Corners," but coming up with eight new songs, many of them hard-driving and all quite straight-ahead. The excellent release shows that, at least for some of its practitioners, there is life after new age.
–
Scott Yanow, Rovi