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Tom Nazziola: Reflections On Love

By Neil Duggan
August 18, 2024
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Many albums feature arrangements of standards, so what does it take to stand out from the crowd? Solutions to the problem include choosing the seldom-played lesser-known standards, changing the chords to reharmonize the songs while keeping the melody and changing the instrumentation throughout the album.

Tom Nazziola

composer / conductor

" data-original-title="" title="">Tom Nazziola uses all these tools on his album Reflections On Love.

Nazziola is a pianist and Grammy-nominated composer of film scores and orchestral music. He has also contributed to Broadway productions and live-to-film projects. Along the way, he has played with artists of the caliber of Marvin Hamlisch,

Michael Brecker

saxophone, tenor
1949 - 2007

" data-original-title="" title="">Michael Brecker and

Gerry Mulligan

saxophone, baritone
1927 - 1996

" data-original-title="" title="">Gerry Mulligan. The album features a variety of formats: guitar trio, piano solo and piano quartet with trumpet. Joining Nazziola are guitarist

Ian Smit

guitar
b.1957

" data-original-title="" title="">Ian Smit, bassist

Barry Hartglass

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Barry Hartglass and trumpeter

John Bailey

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">John Bailey. In addition to piano, Nazziola also plays drums, organ and additional guitar and bass.

The album opens with

Leonard Bernstein

composer / conductor
1918 - 1990

" data-original-title="" title="">Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's "One Hand, One Heart" from the musical West Side Story. Smit's gentle electric guitar flows over sensitive drums and smoothly supportive bass in a delicate reworking. "Where or When," a show tune from Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart's musical, Babes in Arms, has a similar sonic make-over with light drum flurries and a gently reaching guitar sound, which may put one in mind of

Bill Frisell

guitar, electric
b.1951

" data-original-title="" title="">Bill Frisell or

Daniel Lanois

guitar
b.1951

" data-original-title="" title="">Daniel Lanois.

"It Never Entered My Mind," another Rodgers and Hart show tune, follows; however, the

Miles Davis

trumpet
1926 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Miles Davis Quintet version of the tune may be more familiar. Nazziola delivers romantic and stately solo piano lines with a full sound that gently cascades, creating a touch of regret. Nazziola excels on Lionel Bart's "Where is Love," with his solo piano finding delightful new angles in the spaces.

George Gershwin

composer / conductor
1898 - 1937

" data-original-title="" title="">George Gershwin's "A Foggy Day" is one of the more familiar standards here; the song has been covered by a variety of performers, from

Red Garland

piano
1923 - 1984

" data-original-title="" title="">Red Garland to

Billie Holiday

vocals
1915 - 1959

" data-original-title="" title="">Billie Holiday. Nazziola's solo piano version is more akin to Holiday's approach, with a leisurely delivery and subtle chord changes that find a different aspect to the tune.

The change to a piano trio format suits

John Blackburn

" data-original-title="" title="">John Blackburn's "Moonlight in Vermont." Readers may be more familiar with the

Ella Fitzgerald

vocals
1917 - 1996

" data-original-title="" title="">Ella Fitzgerald and

Louis Armstrong

trumpet and vocals
1901 - 1971

" data-original-title="" title="">Louis Armstrong version. There is a change of format to a guitar trio as Smit takes the lead in Gershwin's "Love Walked In," ably supported by a subtle reading from bassist Barry Hartglass that gives the song a more contemporary feel.

The piano trio is augmented by Bailey's excellent trumpet work for "It's Easy To Remember." Rodgers and Harts' tune has been covered by a range of artists, from

Perry Como

vocals
1912 - 2001

" data-original-title="" title="">Perry Como to

Keith Jarrett

piano
b.1945

" data-original-title="" title="">Keith Jarrett, but it is probably the

John Coltrane

saxophone
1926 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">John Coltrane Quartet version that is best known. Again, Nazziola finds a lightly swinging contemporary edge to the familiar.

Smit is at his best on Gershwin's "He Loves and She Loves," his quiet guitar phrasing transforming the song. Nazziola also adds Hammond B3 organ into the mix on "I Know," a song written by his father that fits perfectly into this company. Hartglass' bass again catches the ear. Surprisingly, the album closes with "No One Knows," a composition by Ernie Maresca, best known for writing credits on The Wanderer and Runaround Sue.

There is a gentle core to these songs about the various aspects of love. The reharmonization is thoughtful, respectful and creatively presents these classic songs in a way that exposes new elements of their melodies. The arrangements are delicate, often minimal, gliding and flowing with the occasional surprise that compliments the romance of the original songs.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

One Hand, One Heart; Where or When; It Never Entered My Mind; Where Is Love; A Foggy Day; Moonlight in Vermont; Love Walked In; It��s Easy to Remember; He Loves and She Loves; I Know; No One Knows.

Personnel

Tom Nazziola

composer / conductor

Ian Smit

guitar

John Bailey

trumpet

Barry Hartglass

bass

Additional Instrumentation

Tom Nazziola: organ (10); John Bailey: trumpet (8).

Album information

Title: Reflections On Love | Year Released: 2024 | Record Label: Goju Records

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