Alan Broadbent - Everything I Love
Posted on January 17, 2008 by Kris Holmes
What this absolutely hideous LP cover hides is actually a great jazz piano trio LP. You would be justifiable in flipping past this LP in your local thrift store, having a good laugh at the mustachioed man with the side sweep & then carrying on with your dig. I showed the LP to my girlfriend when I got it home & she was confident that she would never have purchased an LP that looks like this.
I suppose what you need to know is that after Mike Nock, Alan Broadbent is the next greatest (most internationally famous at least) jazz pianist to come from New Zealand. The reason I knew his name is actually the only reason I picked up this LP. The person who owned this before I bought it at the thrift store yesterday got this copy signed by Broadbent at the "Sheraton Auckland Jazz Festival" in 1987. It was recorded in Hollywood in 1986 & features Putter Smith on bass & great New Zealand jazz drumer Frank Gibson Jr. It was released on the small Los Angeles "Discovery" label & I believe Broadbent has one or two other releases on the same label.
Alan Broadbent has had a long career, having played with many jazz greats, studied privately with Lennie Tristano & even earned a couple of grammy nominations for his work with Woody Herman. But I think it's in a small group setting that he really shines & can get ample to opportunity to stretch out with his playing. This is a great LP by an underrated pianist. Although definitely easy to overlook because of the mid-80s crimes against album cover art that it displays.
Filed under: Jazz
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