Covers The Big 4

This set was compiled from the British labels Pye, Piccadilly, Transatlantic and Immediate, so is necessarily restricted in what it includes, yet such is the abundance of Beatles covers that there is plenty to enjoy in this eclectic compilation. The covers are presented in Beatles date order, although it does not follow that the actual covers were recorded in that order. The tracks from Let it be precede those from Abbey road. There are also a few songs that the Beatles wrote but did not record themselves, one of these being Step inside love, a UK top ten hit for Cilla Black, but here covered by Nina Baden-Semper, an actress best known for her role in the seventies TV series Love thy neighbour.

Long a greatly in-demand sideman, pianist Larry Willis excels during this opportunity to lead his own trio. With superb support from bassist Buster Williams and the tasteful drummer Al Foster, Willis explores a variety of standards, obscurities, and a pair of his originals. The interpretations are lyrical, quietly emotional, harmonically sophisticated, and full of subtle surprises. This is the type of jazz recording that grows in interest with each listen, for there is a great deal happening just beneath the surface.