Swing and Eloquence in a Paris Studio
Jones swings with steady pulse and fluent runs, opening one track with glittering quick-fingered solo work.
Hank Jones recorded I Remember You (1977) in Paris for Black & Blue at a point when he had already established himself as one of jazz's most reliable and skilled pianists. This was not a debut statement or a reinvention — it was Jones doing what he had learned to do exceptionally well: navigate the American songbook with swing, taste, and technical command.
The session paired Jones with Wendell Marshall on bass, Joe Wilder on trumpet, and Kenny Clarke on drums. The Boston Globe noted that Jones "plays with a steady swinging pulse with lots of variations, fluent single note runs, a sharp accent here, a quick change of pace there." On Richard Rodgers' "You Took Advantage of Me," he opens with the kind of glittering, quick-fingered solo work that shows his debt to Art Tatum without sounding derivative. The group has a soft and occasionally plaintive quality — the Penguin Guide to Jazz found this especially appealing — that comes partly from the restraint of the arrangement and partly from these musicians' maturity. They are not trying to prove anything.
AllMusic called it "a fine set" and noted Jones was "emphasizing the swing side of his flexible musical personality." This is accurate. Jones was never interested in the avant-garde or in sounding modern for its own sake. He was interested in playing the melody, keeping time that breathes, and making it all sound natural. If you know his earlier work, this album will feel like a natural continuation rather than a surprise. It is worth hearing if you appreciate straightforward, accomplished swing trio playing.
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