Eubie Blake

In this magnificent collection presented melodies performed by these masters of jazz piano: Scott Joplin, James P. Johnson, Eubie Blake, Mandy Randolph, Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, Joe Sullivan, Teddy Wilson, Count Basie, Oscar Peterson, Thelonious Monk, Nat King Cole and many, many others …

Once in a while, an album comes along to take your breath away. That is certainly the case with this boxed set, which contains no fewer than 25 CDs tracing the history of jazz piano from early 1899 to the end of 1958. Several years ago, the same record company issued a set ten CDs covering some of the same ground, but this expanded version is even more amazing.

Few record labels can boast as glorious a legacy as Sony Classical. This lavish four-disc set chronicles the finest performances available on the label from the past ninety-five years. Eighty selections comprising over four hours of music are accompanied by two lavishly illustrated booklets highlighting Sony Classical's stellar history.

Shuffling Ivories may not win any prizes for innovation, but it provides a tuneful hour of accomplished piano and bass playing and insights into the less visible byways of jazz piano.
The title is a play on Shuffle Along, Eubie Blake’s 1921 Broaday musical, written in partnership with Noble Sissle, and with Blake as a starting point this piano and bass album offers a wide-ranging tribute to various styles of ivory-tickling, shuffling them to some extent as it goes.
The first and title track is a traditional swinging blues with Monkish moments, written by Magris. I’ve Found a New Baby is a lively conversational treatment of the standard in which bass and piano create spontaneous counterpoint before coalescing in unadulterated swing for the end…

Throughout a busy musical career that got underway in the early '50s, Dick Hyman has functioned as pianist, organist, arranger, music director, and composer. His versatility in all of these areas has resulted in a long career involving film scores, orchestral compositions, concert appearances and well over 100 albums recorded under his own name.