Klavierspielereien (Remastered) Eugen Cicero

• 1 I Got Rhythm 03:23
• 2 Rumänische Volksweisen 04:59
• 3 Summertime 05:57
• 4 What Kind of Fool Am I 07:17
• 5 Bye Bye Blackbird 05:17
• 6 Rumänisches Volkslied 03:51
• 7 My Foolish Heart 06:55
• 8 Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo 03:40
• Total Runtime 41:19

Info for Klavierspielereien (Remastered)

Eugen Cicero, the man known as ‘Mr. Golden Hands’, continues with his masterful mix of jazz and classical styles, once again expertly accompanied by the crack MPS ‘house rhythm section’ of German bassist Peter Witte and Swiss drummer Charly Antolini. For this outing, the Romanian piano maestro selected popular standards from the Great American Songbook and Romanian folksongs. The trio takes Gershwin’s classic I Got Rhythm up-tempo, with Cicero giving the listener some jazz history lessons that includes a masterful stride section. Eugen runs through a potpourri of styles and feelings on his versions of Romanian Folk Songs, and the trio returns for Gershwin’s Summertime, strolling through a garden of musical delights, changing times and tempos as they go. Cicero infuses What Kind of Fool Am I with classic romanticism, chromatic arpeggios, a powerful left-hand walking bass line, and virtuoso finesse, then the trio takes on the evergreen Bye Bye Blackbird in a swinging, bluesy medium groove. Cicero again takes leave of the rhythm section on the next Romanian Folk Song, a piece that begins in a fascinating 3-3-2 time before sliding into some honky-tonk fun. The trio is back for Cicero’s romantic rendition of the ballad My Foolish Heart, and Cicero finishes the set with his exquisite, multifaceted solo version of the popular Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo from the Leslie Caron movie, Lili. A thoroughly enjoyable album and a testament to the exuberant creativity of Eugen Cicero.

Eugen Cicero, piano
Peter Witte, bass
Charly Antolini, drums

Recorded 4th January, 14th March 1965 at MPS-Tonstudio, Villingen, Germany
Produced by Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer

Digitally remastered

Eugen Cicero
of Romanian-Hungarian descent, was born in Cluj-Napoca (Klausenburg), Romania, on June 26, 1940. His remarkable musical aptitude manifested itself at a very early age. He started taking piano lessons at the age of four and was taught by some of the country's most renowned teachers. He owed his brilliantly sensitive touch to the instruction he received from Aurelia Cionca, while Ana Pitis initiated him into the virtuoso tradition, as personified by Franz Liszt.

In addition, Cicero studied instrumentation and composition at the National Conservatory in Bucharest. However, neither the prospect of an academic career nor that of becoming a conventional concert pianist appealed to him. He saw these roles as much too restrictive. The key musical philosophy for Cicero was to be receptive towards everything new and to maintain a free spirit in developing his art.

Growing up in a communist country, he found swing music to be a magical source of inspiration. It was therefore almost invitable that his first concert tour in the sixties took him West to Berlin to be exact the melting pot of European jazz. There, Cicero encountered musicians with a multitude of different styles, and, thanks to his well-honed powers of perception, he was able to adapt some of these to his own musical approach. Soon his personal style crystallized into the so-called Classic-Swing idiom, forging a harmonious link between classical music and mainstream jazz.

The response to Cicero's distinctive keyboard work was an immediate, widespread and enthusiastic one. His recipe for success was to introduce into exquisite baroque, classical and romantic compositions an infectious swing and sophisticated harmonies, and his gifted and dextrous hands transformed these works into timeless masterpieces.

Many musicians had already sought to combine the classical and jazz idioms, but none of them could match Cicero's ability to draw on a rich fund of knowledge and extraordinary technical expertise to achieve such an inspired synthesis. Cicero was, without question, the leading exponent of the so-called Classic-Swing style.

A true evaluation of Cicero's creativity requires not only an appreciation of his tremendous technique but also an ability to listen with the heart. Cicero loved music and he loved his audience. He never played for himself, but for his audiences, which he always succeeded in captivating. His careful selection of originals, prior to each performance, was a pure delight not only for the friends of classical music but also for jazz lovers.

Above all, however, it was the spontaneity and improvisational flair with which he presented his interpretations that transformed each of his concerts into a work of musical art something which is rarely to be experienced in the concert hall today.

In 1976 Eugen Cicero was awarded a German Schallplatten Preis for his arrangements of compositions by Franz Schubert. In addition to more than 70 recordings and numerous domestic and foreign TV appearances, he made pioneering recordings with the Berlin and Munich Philharmonic orchestras. He also toured Japan, a country where he achieved cult status thanks to his thousands of dedicated and loyal fans. It was not easy for critics to categorise Eugen Cicero's playing. The designation 'golden hands', which was attributed to him throughout his career, was an indication that both music lovers and critics valued his consistently high level of performance, especially at times of radical change in the music scene. Even now, after more than 40 years, the name of Eugen Cicero stands for amazing pianistic virtuosity, phenomenal rhythmic feeling and an inexhaustibly inventive genius. (Lisa Boulton, Villingen)

This album contains no booklet.