When Victoria Wilson first came across a record by Marian McPartland, she was so captivated by its unique combination of energy, elegance and swing that she wanted to play it herself, note for note. Thus began the self-confessed obsession of one pianist with the work of another which resulted in this fascinating and very unusual, self-released album. By dint of transcribing whole album tracks on to paper, Wilson managed the note-for-note part, but couldn’t resist putting something of herself into the mix, changing keys, tempos and “more than a few notes”.
The result, with bassist Dave Green and drummer Steve Brown alongside, is crisp, airy and compelling trio jazz. It’s also timely, because this is McPartland’s centenary year. Although she was born British, her career was in the US. She lived to the age of 95, recording some of her best work in her 70s and 80s. McPartland’s usual repertoire consisted of classic American songs, which she found endlessly inspiring. So when you listen to Wilson’s album you will be hearing a kind of musical palimpsest: Cole Porter or George Gershwin, plus McPartland, plus Wilson. They’re all in there somewhere.
