Hank Jones Swings a Broadway Classic
Jones turns Willson's holiday tunes into a pianist's playground, warm and unhurried.
Hank Jones came to the Argo studios in 1963 with a clear idea: take the melodies from Meredith Willson's Broadway hit Here's Love and let them breathe as jazz. This wasn't a novelty project or a hastily assembled cash-in. Jones had the technique and taste to make this work — he could play anything, from stride to bop to ballad, and here he chose the middle road, favoring swing and lyricism over flash.
The album sits comfortably in Jones's catalogue as a mid-career excursion into standards territory, much like his many other recordings of songs from the Great American Songbook. What distinguishes it is Willson's material itself — less familiar than Gershwin or Rodgers, which gives Jones room to claim these tunes as his own. His touch is characteristically refined: clean articulation, unhurried phrasing, a trio setting that lets each note count. There's no struggle here, no sense that Jones is working to prove something. He's simply playing good music.
This isn't essential Jones, and it won't change anyone's understanding of his artistry. But if you already admire his work and want to hear him in a relaxed, engaging session with attractive material, Here's Love delivers exactly that — a pianist at ease with his instrument and his choices, making something durable out of familiar sources.
