Summer Times (import) [Import]

Franck Amsallem | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 20, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Nocturne
• ASIN: B0000DC48D
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,700,117 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. I Got Rhythm

2. Summertime

3. Young & Foolish

4. Toms Tune

5. Laila

6. The Man I Love

7. Bud Will Be Back Shortly

8. Youre My Everything

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a recommended jazz piano CD, August 14, 2004

By 

Montmartre (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Summer Times (Audio CD)

JAZZTIMES February 2004

We have an enigma in Franck Amsallem. Born in Algeria, he has lived most of his life in the United States. Usually his albums are devoted to his excellent originals, but for Summer Times (Sunnyside) his sources for most of the tunes are as American as they come:"Jazz via Tin Pan Alley." That's a quote from his notes, which sound remarkably like his keyboard style: laid-back, yet brash; simple, yet complex: unassuming, yet confident; and above all, original. With sympathetic backing by bassist Johannes Weidenmuller and drummer Joe Chambers, Amsallem visits Gershwin three times: he turns the first four notes of "I Got Rhythm" into an ostinato launching pad for a way-up romp, repeating the motif in various forms; "Summertime" receives a refreshing 5/4 treatment; "The Man I Love" is given a calypso makeover. Amsallem is always thinking, but the emotional highlight comes on the introspective "Young and Foolish." A ballad always separates the man from the boy, and the multilayered Summer Times is all human.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excerpt from AllMusicGuide, August 15, 2004

By 

Esther Wallace (Edmonds, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Summer Times (Audio CD)

Summer Times is an unusual record for pianist Franck Amsallem because, instead of him exclusively performing originals as on most of his previous recordings, he revives five standards. Amsallem shows that he can swing à la Wynton Kelly whenever he wishes and can infuse ballads with honest feeling. His interplay with bassist Johannes Weidenmüller and drummer Joe Chambers is impressive, falling somewhere between Oscar Peterson (where the pianist dominates) and Bill Evans (with equality between the three musicians). Summer Times is the perfect introduction for listeners not familiar with the fine playing of the underrated Amsallem.
- Scott Yanow AllMusicGuide