Stan Hope

Stan Hope: Pastels

by Bob Jacobson
March 1, 2001

In visual art, nothing is more subtle than a pastel. Well, this album was perfectly titled, because few musical artists surpass the subtlety of Stan Hope's performance on this album. Rarely has the piano sounded more beautiful.

Perhaps best known as pianist for Etta Jones and Houston Person, Hope also performs regularly in Harlem and his home base of Queens. His solos with Jones and Person of course tend toward rootsy/creative but here the sound is less bluesy, except on ...