Liz Story

Liz Story's elegant piano lines break out of the darkness on this captivating yet lo-fi video of her in performance. This DVD, titled after her 1982 Windham Hill CD debut, Solid Colors, features selections from that epic -- "Bradley's Dream," "Without You," "Hymn," the title track, and a nice version of "Wedding Rain" that features her impeccable approach to the keyboards and soulful sensitivity. Recorded in 1984, it is part of the Some Call It Jazz series and was directed by Gregg Kubera, who keeps the focus on the pianist (where it should be), with the cameras lingering and her figure sometimes doubled with one shot superimposed on another. The audio by Jim Pfitzinger is fine and captures all of Story's moods. The 11 titles from the three-time Grammy nominee all have polish and inspiration to make for a nice document of her early days. The DVD comes with a discography and a mini biography, but is pretty much no frills -- just a great concert to be experienced just as it happened. ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide