Don Shirley - Don Shirley Piano

2019 reissue

Don Shirley was the subject of the film "Green Book".

Don Shirley (1927-2013) was a classical and jazz pianist and composer, who went down as one of the great keyboard talents of his time. A “graduate” of the supper club-hotel-theater-dance hall circuit, Shirley drew wide critical acclaim when he appeared on the Arthur Godfrey Show to rave reviews by all the musical journals. This led to his being praised in editorials in a number of publications, which, in turn, brought further recognition.

Shirley’s controversial style stemmed from his use of some of the more serious forms and techniques along with the more popular music and jazz forms. He attracted further attention when in 1955, he played a piano concerto written for him by Duke Ellington, accompanied by the Symphony of the Air at Carnegie Hall, in New York City. He was in constant demand as a soloist after that, for personal appearances in clubs all over the country, as well as on radio and TV. Most listeners were baffled when they heard Shirley play for the first time, as he played jazz in a way they had never heard it played before. But those who knew his playing best talked of his unique “quiet sound,” which is as individual and personal as the man himself.

01. One for My Baby (and One More for the Road) (Arlen-Mercer) 2:48
02. Satin Doll (Ellington-Strayhorn) 3:55
03. Somebody Loves Me (Gershwin-MacDonald-DeSylva) 3:23
04. Nearness of You (Carmichael-Washington) 4:02
05. Easy Living (Rainger-Robin) 3:40
06. The Way You Look Tonight (Kern-Fields) 1:45
07. Blues for Basses (Fricker-Shirley-Frey) 1:56
08. Happy Talk (Rodgers-Hammerstein II) 1:49
09. This Nearly Was Mine (Rodgers-Hammerstein II) 3:22
10. Dites-moi (Rodgers-Hammerstein II) 1:06
11. I Remember April (Raye-DePaul-Johnston) 2:45
12. Black Is the Color (Shirley-Frey) 2:59
13. Water Boy (Old Prison Song) 4:52
14. Where’s My Bess (G. & I. Gershwin) 2:50
15. In a Moorish Market Place (Don Shirley) 3:26
16. Blue Skies (Irving Berlin) 4:21
17. Adieu Madraz (Jamaican Folk Song) 3:30
18. When Your Lover Has Gone (Einar Swan) 4:07
19. Tribute to Billie Holiday 7:51
-Trav’lin’ Light (Mundy-Mercer-Young)
-Don’t Explain (Holiday-Herzog)
-Easy Living (Rainger-Robin)
-God Bless the Child (Holiday-Herzog)
20. By Myself / I Know Where I’m Going (Schwartz-Dietz) 3:53
21. Freedom / I’m on My Way (Negro Spiritual) 3:05
22. I Got Rhythm (G. & I. Gershwin) 2:15