Au Privave – 1987

Throughout his long career, Hank Jones (1918-2010) was known for being a tasteful and consistently swinging pianist, one who was an asset to every session that he was on.

Jones matured during the 1940s and, while he had been part of the swing era when he was based in Detroit, he soon mastered bebop and modern jazz while developing his own fresh musical personality.

Here he is in 1987, leading his trio with bassist George Mraz and drummer Mickey Roker through a cooking version of the Charlie Parker blues “Au Privave,” showing how bebop piano sounds at its best.

-Scott Yanow