Honeysuckle Rose – 2022
Emmet Cohen & Luca Filastro
A surprise-filled two-piano version of the Fats Waller classic
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Luca Filastor, an Italian pianist in his mid-twenties, is not only a future great of the piano but is already one of the top stride pianists around today.
Fellow pianist Emmet Cohen welcomed Filastro as a guest on one of his online shows; their version of “Honeysuckle Rose” is particularly memorable and full of surprises.
Filastro begins playing “Honeysuckle Rose” slow with some runs reminiscent of Art Tatum.
His performance evolves into stride piano a la Fats Waller, Emmet Cohen soon takes over, and then the two masterful players happily share the piano.
The tempo becomes quite rapid and, after the pianists trade choruses, Filastro takes three remarkable choruses, quoting Waller’s “A Handful Of Keys” along the way.
With backing by bassist Russell Hall and drummer Winard Harper, Cohen and Filastro go back to playing together before the piece somehow concludes at tits original tempo.
-Scott Yanow
