Friedrich Gulda At Birdland + A Man Of Letters - Jazz Piano Masterpieces | Perfect for Jazz Lovers & Music Collectors | Great for Relaxation, Study & Dinner Parties

In June 1956, for the first time in the history of jazz and/or classical music, Friedrich Gulda, the world-renowned classical piano virtuoso, was booked into a jazz club when he led led a jazz unit on a two-week engagement at the famous Birdland. He was 26. Jazz aficionado and producer John Hammond helped him put together an excellent group with a first-rate front line of the superb Bird- inspired alto of Phil Woods, the supple, full-toned swing of tenor Seldon Powell, the virtuosic eloquence of trombonist Jimmy Cleveland and, in fine form, the veteran modernist Idrees Sulieman on trumpet. Bassist Aaron Bell and drummer Nick Stabulas were solidly effective rhythm section partners for Gulda, and the group s collective empathy was remarkable on a programme of standards and the pianist s originals. Gulda, who had little time to pay his jazz dues, played in a fluent modern jazz idiom. He was relaxed and professional, and knowledgeable, sensitive and respectful of the jazz language, disdaining the application of the pyrotechnical technique for which he was acclaimed. And there was no hint of the jazz-classical fusion fad of the time; just taste, judgement and class.