Szakcsi 1994 Straight Ahead

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.