Tad Weed

Weed is known for his more progressive music as a sideman on the Nine Winds label, but he is also an incredible interpreter of standards. In this solo piano tribute to recently deceased pianist Harris, Weed grows great healthy stalks of improvised, two-handed streams of consciousness. It's clear he's a virtuoso, as he plays rambling chords back and forth from both ends of the keyboard with astounding technique and ultimate taste. Except for one of the eleven tracks, these are standards embellished to zenith proportions that even someone like Oscar Peterson should sit up and take notice. The lone original "Gene's Walkin' Upstairs" is an easy paced 4/4 blues so reflective of the jazz-blues mix Harris so readily employed. "Rocking Chair" uses a relaxed, striding swing with extended phrases beyond bar lines, and "Love for Sale" has Weed's modal left hand buoying his roaring right prior to a finger-snapping, quickly strided bridge. At his most deeply bluesy, "Just Squeeze Me" is most demonstrably cage rattling, two-handed yin and yang fury extant, while the steady swing of "Our Love Is Here to Stay" dips into the black bottom most effectively. Weed uses hard tango and stride sections during "You Took Advantage of Me," a legit R&B approach on "I'm Walkin'," and bops hard for "Ray's Idea." His tender side comes out as "You Don't Know What Love Is" marks him a closet romantic, and he uses the ballad form on "Georgia on My Mind" while his hyper-active flourishes take this piece skyward. Weed is a native of Michigan who went to the West Coast to establish his rep but has since returned to the Metro Detroit area. He seems ready to assert himself as a top drawer modern jazz pianist, and this recording indicates he's well on his way. ~ Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide