Eddie+higgins

A solid bop-based pianist, Eddie Higgins has never become a major name, but he has been well-respected by his fellow musicians for decades…

Eddie Higgins is a quiet musician. His playing is never flamboyant and never exceeds the boundaries of good taste. The music coming out of his piano is reflective, exuding a feeling of relaxation, contemplation, and intimate beauty…

A solid bop-based pianist, Eddie Higgins has never become a major name, but he has been well-respected by his fellow musicians for decades…

Eddie Higgins has been on the jazz scene for a long time, but he seems to be a best-kept secret by those able to track down his various releases for independent labels in the U.S. or Japanese titles, such as this one from Venus. This 2003 session features the veteran purely as a soloist, performing a dozen of his favorite ballads…

A solid bop-based pianist, Eddie Higgins has never become a major name, but he has been well-respected by his fellow musicians for decades…

A solid bop-based pianist, Eddie Higgins has never become a major name, but he has been well-respected by his fellow musicians for decades…

A solid bop-based pianist, Eddie Higgins has never become a major name, but he has been well-respected by his fellow musicians for decades…

Eddie Higgins has been a solid bop pianist for decades, though he seems most appreciated by the folks who run the Japanese label Venus, for whom he has recorded frequently in his golden years. Joined by two-thirds of Phil Woods' longtime rhythm section (Steve Gilmore and Bill Goodwin), along with special guest Scott Hamilton on tenor sax, Higgins explores a dozen ballads, most of which have been favorites of jazz musicians longer than the pianist has been playing professionally…

Eddie Higgins has been an active jazz musician since the late '50s, though he has developed an especially strong following in Japan, resulting in numerous opportunities to record for Japanese jazz labels. This single-disc set features the bandleader with tenor saxophonists Scott Hamilton and Ken Peplowski, along with bassist Jay Leonhart and drummer Ben Riley…

The lonely cover photo and title of this Japanese import give away most of the story; this is a haunted, introspective album of piano-trio jazz very much indebted to Bill Evans and, to a lesser extent, George Shearing…