Salmon Is a Jumpin'

Pianist John Salmon has long been performing both classical music and jazz, playing a wide range of the former (while also teaching as a professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro since 1989), while having recorded a number of classical and jazz compositions by Dave Brubeck. This outing is a bit different, as Salmon overdubs a second piano line and varies the amount of improvising from one track to the next, while most of the compositions are originals. The swinging opener, "Small Diamond," shows the influence of Brubeck (without being a carbon copy of the jazz master's style), incorporating a lively fugue. His bittersweet, moving ballad "Purcell's Lament" was inspired in part by an opera aria, though it adds an interesting twist with a lively salsa in the midst of the piece. One could easily imagine a scat singer conjuring a lyric to go with Salmon's brilliant, inventive "Scatitude," a buoyant work that is full of joy. "Bossa Bachiana" is a compelling blend of bossa nova and Baroque music, inviting comparisons to third stream and cool artists of the late '50s and early '60s. The sole standard is "Fughetta on Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?," an intricate series of variations on the decades-old standard. The gracious, pastoral-like hymn "Child's Evening Prayer" was written by Salmon's grandfather, Hugh C.C. Salmon, a pretty melody that is perfect for meditation, while the pianist adds an improvised section that fits perfectly, before returning to recap the theme. The wild miniature blues "Very Larry" is full of sudden twists, while the showy blues "Salmon Is a Jumpin'" sounds like a perfect set closer. Those who have heard John Salmon's earlier CDs will be delighted with Salmon Is a Jumpin', while other fans of both classical music and jazz need to investigate his entertaining music.