ABSTRACT
Benny Green in Oregon, plays in a trio with bassist Ray Brown, and he have just a day or so at home in New York before he takes off again. For the most part it's a trio with guitarist Russell Malone and bassist Christian McBride, two of Benny's old friends who toured with him in 1999. But the real interest in this disc lies in Benny's three solo tracks: the slow, elegant stride of 'Ellington's Love You Madly', the wistful Wayne Shorter tune Lester Left Town, and the highlight, a brief, intense version of a song called Learnin' the Blues. When Benny mentions his duets with Oscar that was a glimpse into a kind of Norman Granz way of running a record date. Oscar played the piano Benny uses so beautifully that in his hands there appeared to be nothing wrong with it. Benny's current trio is modelled on the Tatum trio's instrumentation, although that's where the resemblance stops.
