The Fine Art Of Jazz Piano

“From the first notes ... this listener immediately knew this was not just another ‘cover’.  Inventive ideas, subtle twists and turns, pushing the emotional envelope at just the right moments.  Continuity of thought and rhythm, no straining... If I had a short list of records to put in my collection this year, this would be one of the piano albums I would choose."  John Sutton, Jazz Excursion (for entire review)

Titles

What they’ve said:

“To paraphrase the title of a Monk classic, Mlely’s piano is powerfully ‘on minor’... I hear a spirit that is initially somber, like twilight, with a brightly complex delivery.  That complexity involves rather than puts off the listener.  He is as clear as a bell.  Mlely walks the keyboard and strums it like a harp.  He rolls it around in your ear like a bluesy summer evening after you’ve had that tasty meal, and just before you nod off on the front porch.”  Phyllis A. Lodge, Jazz USA

“The genius of G. F. Mlely ... gives the performance of a lifetime on this solo piano outing ... an excellent CD for the jazzlistener.  Re-Entry is solo piano at its best ... a magnificent collection of performances by G. F. Mlely!  Five stars.”  Lee Prosser, Jazz Review 

“A tour de force of leading edge pianists . . . not just another display of awesome technique.”  Dr. Marshal Stokes, Washington Post, Washington, D.C. 

“Mlely is not one to pin down.  Tatum, Corea, Monk, Taylor, Debussy, Evans.  Despite the antecedents, Mlely is a unique talent.”  Stephen M.H. Braitman, City Arts, San Francisco, California 

“A true original ...  Mlely has much to say, and he says it with warm, refreshing eloquence.  Something of a jazz version of Henry David Thoreau.”  Gordon Raddue, The Independent and Gazette, Berkeley, California 

“From the first notes of 'Our Love Is Here To Stay' on G. F. Mlely's 88 Keys And Counting, this listener immediately knew this was not just another 'cover' of the popular tune. Inventive ideas, subtle twists and turns, pushing the emotional envelope at just the right moments.  Continuity of thought and rhythm, no straining.  

“The recording quality is excellent too.  I listen to thousands of jazz releases each year, many solo piano recordings and this one jumped right out as having a fully developed sound with accesssible complexity and yet the musical course is unpredictable and pleasantly serendipitous.  Very tasty recording.  

“If I had a short list of records to put in my collection this year, this would be one of the piano albums I would choose.  Favorite tracks: 'Spirit Inside,' 'Mistress of the Tree,' 'Mood Indigo,' 'Here We Are,' 'Rio.'”

“G. F. Mlely performs solo piano with a two-pronged attack, Left hand and Right hand.  The sound is clear and crisp, the delivery is powerful and moving.  His interpretation of Gershwin's Our Love Is Here To Stay is filled with flamboyant runs and staccato romps.  The take on Cole Porter's Love For Sale is slow and blues infested while retaining that quality of 'lightness' that Mlely ingrains into his work, a marvelous rendering.  Other covers include Duke Ellington's Mood Indigo, another Porter tune Night And Day, and a sweetly played version of Johnny Mercer's Come Rain Or Come Shine.  

“There are also four Mlely originals, most notable of which is Rio - all motion and interplay with a moment here and there for some jouncy rhythm.  I also liked the Spirit Inside, a well developed song that delivers a sense of pride and majesty, showing Mlely's ability not only to play with both hands, but to write for them as well.  Mlely plays and writes with a style that is uniquely his and very recognizable, much as George Winston did.  Very enjoyable.”

“In playing solo, the art of music is defined by expertise.  Outstanding technique may indulge the player, but there has to be enough crativity to carry the listener.  In order to succeed, the focus should not be divided and the pulse has to be constantly fed from the center.  It is to pianist G. F. Mlely’s credit that he keeps the structure of these pieces pliable for his ministrations, and in doing so displays an inspired confidence. 

“Mlely creates tension and loosens the pulse.  In his two-handed attack, his left creates vignettes that accompany the luminous creations of his right.  Intense dynamics cavort to a swirling pulse, and rhythm and time can change in one smooth swerve.  He lays bare the melody of ‘Love For Sale’ with an easy, slow air and then chugs through a heady exposition of the theme.  A light pastoral zephyr wafts across ‘Mistress Of The Tree,’ the calm both soothing and heady.  ‘Rio’ has a solid Latin groove going for it, without ever truly immersing in the beat.  Mlely also shows the influence of Art Tatum, particularly on ‘Spirit Inside’ which, given the devolution, is aptly named.” 

"If you've not yet heard of pianist G. F. Mlely (I had not), and are an aficionado of adventuresome but tuneful solo jazz piano, 88 Keys And Counting would be a good introduction.  He has been touched by the influence of many of the occupants of the pianistic pantheon, yet it is hard to listen to his playing and say, 'oh, he got that phrase from so-and-so . . .

"Among the standards Mlely approaches on this set, 'Love for Sale' stands out for its full character development.  The pianist alternates between a stride and rubato throughout the melody statement, and throws in juicy chordal clusters in various registers.  His right hand waxes rhapsodic with sweeping arpeggios, but never loses sight of the melody throughout the duration of the song.  Mlely's elastic but still tonal sense of melody and rhythm is epitomized in this track.  Other standard-standouts include 'Come Rain or Come Shine' and 'Night and Day.'

"Mlely also shows himself to be a fine composer on the spiky and fierry 'Spirit Inside,' the reflective 'Mistress of the Tree,' and 'Rio,' which is reminiscent of Joe Henderson's 'Recorda-me' in mood and groove." 

LINER NOTES  

88 Keys and Counting is the second in JazCraft’s series The Fine Art Of Jazz Piano, featuring pianist-composer G. F. Mlely.  Of the previous release in this series, Re-Entry, Phyllis A. Lodge, co-author with McCoy Tyner of Tyner’s autobiography, wrote, “G. Francis Mlely’s Re-Entry may be heralding his re-emergence into the tantalizingly perilous world of music - a Re-Entry into Earthly experience from a different musical dimension - one that is best explored with an insightful, powerful guide.  Mlely is such a guide, and his Re-Entry clearly harks to a streaming musical dimension.”  

Francis Mlely is multi-faceted also as lyricist and writer.  Most of his originals, performed in the series as instrumentals only, also contain lyrics written by him.  And he observes; for instance:  

“Thanks to the success and nearly total dominance of the Popular Music Industry, music is no longer special.  We are so inundated with the constancy of music, by way of the ubiquitous automation of musica non grata, that, along with the usual urban noises, we are becoming, if not already so, calloused to all forms of sound.  In order to get on with the business of our lives, to shut out the ugly and unacceptable, we are also training to shut out the beautiful.  

“But, we cannot shut sound out entirely.  Manufactured sound treats or attacks as though at will.  It pushes through our walls.  By way of passing traffic, the booming drum-bass vibrating the very environment.  Where are we to go for respite from the unbearable? - for relief from those among these generations so disdainful of the quiet, the subtle.  To the wilderness?  To where we then, visiting mockery of the natural and primitive, encountering portable audio blasters, trail bikes, ATVs, jet skis, choppers combating what remains of the pristine.  

“We seem fixed on the path of a people who no longer delight in music, but only as it is useful, whether or not it can satisfy our immediate sexual, social, or financial needs.  O, if only something more could be expected of a civilization historically last in support of music as vital art, but first in support of it as widget for sale.” [from the writings of G. F. Mlely]