Customer Reviews

Indiana On Our Minds: The Music Of Cole Porter & Hoagy Carmichael

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People who used to "listen" to John Eaton in cocktail lounges while they ate, drank and talked probably thought the music was pleasant elevator music. Too bad! If they shut up and listened they would have been rewarded with deep, intricate, beautiful interpretations of classics. A profound kind of jazz. I found out about Eaton from a professor of classical composition who has been a secret admirer of Eaton for 20 years. John doesn't play lounges anymore, just concerts. Here's your chance to listen to a great talent. And the 11 minute discussion by Eaton at the end is worth the price all by itself. Enjoy!

This is an amazing performance by a truly gifted artist. The orginal music is beyond comment but the performance makes it a CD not to miss if you love American Popular song.

John Eaton represents the near-dead art of sophistication. The melodies he plays are familiar, and he treats them with a respect befitting their worth. Mr. Eaton plays in a style that demands very close inspection. The subtleties he employs are more impactful than a virtuostic bombast of notes from other pianists. Mr. Eaton is an incredible talent. Support him and buy this CD!

When I lived in Washington DC, I used to treat myself, my fiancee and close friends to an evening listening to John Eaton practice his art at a piano-bar in Georgetown. The experience was always akin to attending a concert performance, only in a more relaxed setting. This collection of Cole Porter and Hoagy Carmichael songs demonstrates Eaton's artistry as a jazz pianist and his loving and serious dedication to his work. The last cut is a compelling, brilliant lecture by Eaton that evaluates Porter and Carmichael's contributions to American jazz and popular music. Anyone who would dismiss Eaton as a mere cocktail lounge performer lacks an appreciation of his subtle genius and his musical elegance. Musical snobbery is politically incorrect these days with musicians like Yo-Yo Ma introducing a classically trained audience to the sound of Asian folk instruments in his Silk Road as well as to Argentine and Brazilian popular artists and their native instruments.