If you've been following
Mark Applebaum
's output on the label
Innova
, this CD can be a bit disconcerting, especially if you weren't aware of the man's
jazz
activities.
The Applebaum Jazz Piano Duo
features father
Bob Applebaum
and son
in an intimate setting. The
experimental
aspect of the latter's work goes unsuspected throughout the 12
standards
and four originals on this set, but it is still there, lurking in the arrangements and popping its head up in the piece
"Titled,"
which is very abstract. But for the most part
The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree
is a collection of
bop
up-tempo tunes and
ballads
that are elegantly played and recorded, nice dinner music by candlelight. The fun begins when you study it closer. You'll find a dodecaphonic walking bassline in the familiar
"Caravan,"
Miles Davis
'
"All Blues"
transformed from a 6/8 to a 3/4 (and it changes the groove a lot more than what you'd think), and
Bill Evans
"Funkallero"
unexpectedly invaded by
Rachmaninoff
and
Beethoven
. No piece is left unaltered. On top of it all the pianists have excellent chops, especially
Mark
, who can conceal a lot of "out"
in his "in" playing. The sympathy factor is through the roof, but this CD, however conventional-sounding it may seem (and, deep down, is), goes way beyond a father-and-son team. ~ Francois Couture