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"Firstly, I would like to pay homage
to 4 musical geniuses that have given me the inspiration to come
back to playing after an absence of over 30 years. First and foremost,
to Oscar Peterson who must be considered the finest musical genius
that the word has ever known.
Secondly, the late Art Tatum, the late Bill Evans, & my teacher,
the late Russ Messina. These four are in a class all by themselves
of which all the rest of us can merely remain forever awestruck.
Secondly, I'm not a pianist but rather an accordionist. I have
however, always loved the piano and decided that I could do more
as a soloist on piano. I did decide when I began this musical
adventure that I would not fall into the far out avant-garde genre
that so many of today's young pianists seem to be in. I still
believe that music lovers want to hear "pretty" notes
even if they don't recognize the song. At least their ears are
not offended.
I have here recorded a group of standards along with a couple
of my own songs which I hope will be musically appealing to most
listeners. Future recordings will be in the same format but with
a rhythm section. Enjoy !!!
p.s. By the way, I love hats.
James Bongiorno. |
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| It is rare that a person is a genius in
two areas. In this case an audio circuit designer and a jazz pianist.
But quite frankly, this is the case with James Bongiorno. I met
him back in the late 60's in my home town Erie, PA and was quite
impressed then with his abilities both as a designer and a musician.
We used to go out to lunch and he would show me his latest audio
circuit design by drawing it on a napkin... and then we'd go over
to my parent's house and he'd sit down on my piano and play incredible
solo jazz piano. There ought to be a law against this sort of thing
as truthfully... it was a bit intimidating! So now, over 35 years
later to hook up again and have the honor and pleasure to produce
his debut solo piano CD is quite a treat. These sessions were done
in one afternoon at my personal studio and are literally all first
takes! In fact, one tune in particular "Waltz For Debbie"
was not even on James' list to record but I heard him fooling around
with it one day and so as the producer I coaxed him to give it a
try and the rest is history and also a first take. His renditions
of Waltz For Debbie, My Funny Valentine and Here's That Rainy Day
are some of the best I've ever heard bar none. What impresses me
about James is not only his technical prowess but his musical honesty,
integrity and originality. Add this to his complete command over
jazz harmony and you have the makings of a new force on the jazz
piano horizon... James, "The Bonge" Bongiorno... And Oh,
I forgot to tell you - he composes, write lyrics and sings - so
stay tuned!
John Novello |
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Price: $14.00 (+ $2.00 shipping)
California residence add 8.25% tax ($1.16)
CHECKS ONLY
Mail to:
James Bongiorno
716 N. G St. #2
Lompoc, Ca. 93436
Phone/Fax 805 740-9902 |
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CD Review...
First of all, I've never
spent more than 5 bucks for a CD in my life. I"m strictly
a garage sale/ cutout bin guy when it comes to CD's and LP's,
but I splurged for Jim's latest waxing (as they said in the record
biz years ago), and here's what I can tell you:
Jim has a very listenable style. Not the plain vanilla style
of,say,Frankie Carle. Not the way out tuneless bebob style of
Thelonius (Felonius?) Monk. Not the locked hands style of George
Shearing. Not the bouncy style of Erroll Garner (my favorite),
not the pure jazz style of Nat. Not the flamboyant arpeggiated
style of Tatum.
I'd say it's good listening music if you like to listen to
good tunes,mostly standards with a few originals, that lets
you really appreciate the melody in the hands of someone who
really appreciates the music. I played it thru twice myself,
then went out to Palm Springs for the weekend and took it along
and played it for some friends who knew nothing about GOOD music
and they liked it,too.
So,if you like to hear nice tunes, played in a very tasty style,
and like to hear a truly great piano well recorded, pick it
up. And if,by chance,you're not a solo piano fan (everybody
cant like everything), pick up a copy to support Jim and pass
it along to a friend who complains about there being "Nothing
good to listen to anymore".
Jim has never asked for anything, he's always available with
advice to the group (even when it was advice that maybe you
did not want to hear) and he's nothing if not a straight shooter.
I dubbed mine to tape so I could play it in my car. I dont know
how he does all those tasty (that word keeps coming up) chord
substitutions, but I"m about to take an axe to my piano
and give up practicing.
Mike Z.
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