Now Playing: Movie Themes - Solo Piano

Performer: Dave Grusin
Producer: Dave Grusin
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Dave Grusin (piano). This GRP release features Dave Grusin in a solo setting. On NOW PLAYING, the crossover jazz pianist performs music from many of the films he has scored over the years, including HAVANA, THE FIRM, RANDOM HEARTS, and others. This is an elegant recording, highlighting Grusin's sensitivity of touch and sweeping pianistic gestures. There are diverse musical styles here, too, from the Mexican-inflected suite of THE MILAGRO BEANFIELD WARS to the foreboding theme for MULHOLLAND FALLS to the serene, bucolic opening of ON GOLDEN POND. A beloved guilty pleasure, "It Might Be You" from Sydney Pollack's now-classic film TOOTSIE, is also included here. On certain tracks, Grusin overdubbed a second piano to create more intensity and detail. As he states in his liner notes, he did this to compensate for the fact that most of this material was originally composed for an orchestra. But this effect is used sparingly, and most of NOW PLAYING is captivating to the ear, spacious, tranquil, and even consoling.

A dizzyingly eclectic jazz/pop piano player, producer, and arranger, Dave Grusin has lent his skills to artists as diverse as Art Pepper, Benny Goodman, and Billy Joel, and has written music prolifically for film and television. But Grusin's biggest mark on musical history is in his role as co-founder of GRP Records, a mid-1970s start-up that provided a home to the burgeoning jazz fusion scene. Grusin nurtured the careers of Chick Corea, Lee Ritenour, Gary Burton, and many others. The GRP "sound," which Grusin was responsible for imbuing in all its releases, relied on crystal clear digital production that captured the harmonic subtleties and rock-like rhythms of jazz fusion.

Click Here for Shipping Options and Policies

Shipping or Dimension weight in pounds: 0.25