Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » John di Martino: Passion Flower: The Music of Billy Strayhorn

John di Martino: Passion Flower: The Music of Billy Strayhorn

By Jack Bowers
April 30, 2020
View read count

John di Martino: Passion Flower: The Music of Billy Strayhorn

Composer / arranger

Billy Strayhorn

piano
1915 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">Billy Strayhorn was barely twenty-three years old when he first met bandleader

" data-original-title="" title="">Duke Ellington, an encounter that would lead to a collaboration that lasted more than half of Strayhorn's life. During that time, Strayhorn wrote some of the Ellington orchestra's most acclaimed and enduring songs including "Lotus Blossom," "Chelsea Bridge," "Isfahan" and, most notably, the jazz classic "Take the 'A' Train," as well as others for which Ellington claimed partial credit ("Daydream," "Something to Live For") and a handful ascribed wholly to Ellington (as for example, "Satin Doll").

Even though it was sometimes downplayed and even overlooked during his long tenure with Ellington, Strayhorn's special brilliance did not escape the ears of fellow Pennsylvanian and veteran pianist

John di Martino

piano
b.1959

" data-original-title="" title="">John di Martino, who has enlisted an all-star quartet to salute the man Ellington called "my right arm and my left arm" by performing fourteen of Strayhorn's exquisite compositions. While the term "all-star" may be over-used, it unequivocally describes Di Martino's partners in the quartet: tenor saxophonist

Eric Alexander

saxophone, tenor
b.1968

" data-original-title="" title="">Eric Alexander, bassist

Boris Kozlov

bass, acoustic
b.1967

" data-original-title="" title="">Boris Kozlov and drummer

Lewis Nash

drums
b.1958

" data-original-title="" title="">Lewis Nash, each of whom is an acknowledged luminary and well-known mainstay on the jazz scene in the States and around the world.

While there may not be adequate stylistic footprints to set Di Martino apart from a host of gifted contemporary pianists, he certainly plays as well as any of them, which is perhaps as apt an endorsement as is needed. Alexander, meanwhile, is his usual robust and resourceful self, while Koslov and Nash are veritable rhythmic machines, urging the group insistently forward and soloing persuasively whenever the need arises. There is one vocal, by the suitably impassioned

Raul Midon

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Raul Midon on "Lush Life" (written when Strayhorn was fifteen years old). Di Martino goes it alone on "A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing" and the closing "Lotus Blossom."

Elsewhere, the quartet dances easily through a laundry list of Strayhorn favorites from "Johnny Come Lately" and "Rain Check" to "Isfahan," Chelsea Bridge," "U.M.M.G," "Blood Count" and of course, "The 'A' Train," with Alexander proving as impressive on ballads as he is on flag-wavers and Di Martino perfectly at home in any milieu. Although Strayhorn could burn with the best of them, ballads were always his strong suit, a premise that is clearly borne out on such masterworks as "Chelsea Bridge," "Daydream," "Passion Flower" and "A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing," which bring out the best in Di Martino and Alexander as well. In fact, everything on the tantalizing menu seems to suit their hearty appetites, raising Passion Flower well above the norm and offering more than an hour of bright and pleasurable listening to one of jazz's definitive masters.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Johnny Come Lately; Lush Life; Rain Check; Star-Crossed Lovers (Pretty Girl); Isfahan (Elf); Chelsea Bridge; Daydream; Passion Flower; U.M.M.G.; Blood Count; Take The A Train; A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing; Absinthe (Lament For An Orchid); Lotus Blossom.

Personnel

John di Martino

piano

Eric Alexander

saxophone, tenor

Boris Kozlov

bass, acoustic

Lewis Nash

drums

Raul Midon

vocals

Album information

Title: Passion Flower: The Music of Billy Strayhorn | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: Sunnyside Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

MY IRIS Live!
< Previous

Suite!
Next >

John di Martino Concerts

Oct 17 Fri

Allan Harris & Harlem After Dark, An Uptown Jazz...

South Jazz Kitchen
Philadelphia, PA

Oct 18 Sat

Allan Harris & Harlem After Dark, An Uptown Jazz...

South Jazz Kitchen
Philadelphia, PA

Oct 19 Sun

Allan Harris & Harlem After Dark, An Uptown Jazz...

South Jazz Kitchen
Philadelphia, PA

Oct 24 Fri

Allan Harris

Chappaqua Public Library
Chappaqua, NY

Nov 29 Sat

Allan Harris

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
New York, NY

Dec 3 Wed

Allan Harris, Jazz Vocalist

Amaturo Theater
Fort Lauderdale, FL

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.