Promises Kept
Performing and recording for more than 50 years, pianist Steve Kuhn has always displayed a quiet audaciousness. Hired at age 13 by baritone saxophonistSerge Chaloff, Kuhn then spent the rest of his teens working in Boston jazz clubs, backing everyone fromColeman HawkinstoChet Baker. Further explorations found him folding European classicism into the mix.Promises Keptis the result of Kuhn's longstanding desire to record with strings (perhaps the promise referenced in the title was made to himself). The natural fit of his compositional inclinations, as well as his thoughtfully articulated playing, makes it clear why he's seen this desire through to fruition. Six new pieces composed specifically for this album are joined by four earlier ones (including the mesmerizing "Life's Backward Glance"), expanded here to allow for the added buoyancy of a 15-piece string section. Kuhn isn't merely a centerpiece here, he's a graceful component in its gentle orchestral sweep.--David Greenberger