Featured

"It was a dark day for jazz in early 1998 when a fatal heart attack cut down 70-year-old pianist Walter Bishop, Jr. He had been one of the premier pianists in jazz for several decades, as his many colleagues knew so well. But Bishop was often overlooked by the jazz public and press in his lifetime, and, in the years since his demise, his music continues to be neglected." 

"One hopes the reappearance of Coral Keys will generate wide interest. The songs on Coral Keys are decisive and radiant, thankfully free of the indulgences marring many jazz records issued in the early 1970s. The title-track finds flutist Vick catching a melodic light tropical breeze before and after a moderately ebullient solo by sure-fingered Bishop. On 'Waltz for Zweetie,' a close cousin of John Coltrane's 'My Favorite Things,' Vick's soprano conjures a lyric poetry that brings to mind Coltrane; here Bishop plays his heart out rather quietly. Highlighting 'Track Down' is Bishop's deployment of his formidable technique in the service of his active imagination." --Frank-John Hadley, Downbeat. Personnel: Walter Bishop, Jr. (piano), Idris Muhammed (drums), Reggie Johnson (bass), Harold Vick (flute & soprano), Alan Schwartz Benger (drums), Woody Shaw (trumpet). – Forced Exposure