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The Keith Emerson Trio
by Kevin Wierzbicki
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The recent sad news of the passing of keyboards wizard Keith Emerson will no doubt have every label he's ever been affiliated with scouring their archives for long-lost recordings to rush-release. That's not the case here though; this CD was released in late 2015 with Emerson's full blessing and with liner notes penned by Keith. Just a teenager at the time the recording session took place (in Emerson's parents' living room, no less) the music here is pure jazz, stylistically a long way from what Emerson would go on to do in rock band the Nice and with prog kings Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Emerson's proficiency and enthusiasm is easy to hear on these youthful sides though; this isn't a typically sloppy teen jam session. Keith takes a hot piano solo on the jump jazz of "You Say You Care" and tackles some tricky runs on "There Will Never Be Another You," a tune that Emerson indicates in the liner notes was him "trying to differentiate myself from those of my age that liked the Dave Clark Five." And he certainly did. Two cuts of special note are the effort's self-penned songs, the Jerry Lee Lewis-like piano rave-up "Winkle Picker Stamp" and the equally rocking "56 Blues." The album closes with a slinky take on Hank Mobley's "Soul Station." A definite must-have for Emerson completists but also a nice at-least-one-time listen for all fans.
The Keith Emerson Trio
