During a two-day period in 1971, pianist
Earl Hines
recorded three albums of unaccompanied solo piano for
Audiophile
, tributes to
W.C. Handy
(
Comes in Handy
),
Hoagy Carmichael
Hines Does Hoagy
) and
Louis Armstrong
My Tribute to Louis
) who had passed away two weeks earlier. 67 at the time,
Hines
was as adventurous as always and very much in prime form during the inspired sessions. All of the music was reissued in 1997 on this two-CD set by
George Buck
's
Solo Art
label. The performances are consistently inventive, with the highlights including a ten-minute version of
"Stardust,"
"Ole Buttermilk Sky,"
"Struttin' with Some Barbecue,"
"Someday You'll Be Sorry,"
"St. Louis Blues,"
"Ole Miss,"
"Beale Street Blues,"
and the touching
"For the Past Masters."
A gem. ~ Scott Yanow