When an artist passes on, the true fans mourn and the record companies often search through their vaults to try to capitalize on their passing. This often results in hastily compiled collections of music, or the surfacing of sub-par recordings that weren't released for obvious reasons when the artist was still around. That's not the case with this top-shelf solo recording from Sir Roland Hanna. Shortly before his death, the pianist had entered into a fruitful recording partnership with Bill Sorin—a former student and longtime fan—who founded IPO recordings and launched the label with Hanna's Everything I Love (IPO, 2002).

While this new chapter in Hanna's recording career was cut short when the piano giant was felled by a fatal heart attack in November of 2002, his other sessions for IPO are firm reminders of his sublime artistry and wide-ranging skills as a pianist, composer and interpreter of music of all kinds. Tributaries —Reflections On Tommy Flanagan (IPO, 2002) and I've Got A Right To Sing The Blues—Songs Of Harold Arlen immediately followed on the heels of Everything I Love, but it took eight years for Colors From A Giant's Kit to arrive. It was worth the wait.

Hanna's relationship with the piano is a complex one but, unlike another former