1994 · Album
Lady Be Good ... for Ella
Recorded 1993 · Groovin' High · Produced by Not specified in available sources
Flanagan Honors Ella With Trio Mastery
A great set of Cliff Notes for doing the jazz piano trio right, with Flanagan at the height of his powers.
By 1993, Tommy Flanagan had spent four decades proving himself one of the most reliable and inventive piano trio leaders in jazz. Lady Be Good ... For Ella (1994) is not a departure or a farewell statement—it's simply Flanagan doing what he had always done best, but with the added weight of a deliberate tribute. The album centers on compositions associated with Ella Fitzgerald, a natural fit for a musician who had absorbed the American songbook so completely that it felt like his native language.
With Peter Washington on bass and Lewis Nash on drums, Flanagan builds these trio interpretations with the kind of economy and swing that only comes from decades of conversation. The interplay is never showy—nobody's trying to prove anything. Washington locks in with Nash to create a foundation that feels both solid and subtle, while Flanagan moves through the melodies and changes with the ease of someone who knows exactly where he's going. There's no wasted motion here, just three musicians working at a level where restraint and power become the same thing.
AllMusic reviewer Michael G. Nastos called it a great set of Cliff Notes for doing the jazz piano trio right, and he wasn't overstating it. This is Flanagan late in his career, uninterested in trends or novelty, simply committed to playing the songs with clarity and swing. It sits comfortably among his strongest trio records—not a reinvention, but a reminder that Flanagan never needed one.
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