I’ve been listening to this album for several weeks, on and off, and it has grown more intriguing each time. For a set of solo piano pieces it’s remarkably undramatic – no great show-off moments – but it’s all so melodic, not to mention politely tricky, that it’s impossible to ignore.
Most of the 11 numbers are originals, but the one that caught me first was a version of Thelonious Monk’s We See. Nothing could be further from Monk’s own rough-hewn piano technique, but when it comes to crafty turns of phrase, few have been craftier. McCormack improvises on his tune with such obvious relish that Monk would have wanted to join in.
After that it was McCormack’s Shaper Maker – starting with a deceptively simple left-hand figure and getting into all kinds of mischief in just over four minutes – and I was hooked. Dream Catcher, Crystal Glass, Prospect Park (with the pianist’s phenomenal technique briefly on display): each piece is succinct enough for a reasonably musical person to follow from start to finish. As to where this stands on the “jazz or non-jazz” scale, I thought we abandoned that years ago.
