Something to Live For: A Billy Strayhorn Songbook

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Something to Live For: A Billy Strayhorn Songbook
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 20, 1998
RecordedJune 17, 1997
StudioAudiomation Studio (Pittsburgh, PA)
GenreJazz
Length65:57
LabelHighNote
HCD 7019
ProducerCecil Brooks III
John Hicks chronology
Newklear Music
(1997)
Something to Live For: A Billy Strayhorn Songbook
(1998)
Nightwind: An Erroll Garner Songbook
(1997)

Something to Live For: A Billy Strayhorn Songbook is an album by the pianist John Hicks, recorded in 1997 and released on the HighNote label.[1] The album contains ten compositions by Billy Strayhorn, along with two by Hicks.

Reception[edit]

AllMusic wrote that Hicks "shows his softer side here, tackling the lush romanticism of Strayhorn's timeless compositions with an appropriately light touch and sense of nuance".[2] JazzTimes called it "a fine stroll through familiar Strayhorn terrain that pays substantial dividends".[3]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings[4]

Track listing[edit]

All compositions by Billy Strayhorn except as indicated

  1. "Something to Live For" (Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn) - 5:44
  2. "Day Dream" (Ellington, Strayhorn John La Touche) - 6:40
  3. "Medley: Lotus/Blossom" - 4:08
  4. "Blood Count" - 6:59
  5. "A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing" - 3:07
  6. "Chelsea Bridge" - 6:10
  7. "Lush Life" - 6:05
  8. "U.M.M.G. (Upper Manhattan Medical Group)" - 5:30
  9. "Minor Blues" (John Hicks) - 4:33
  10. "Passion Flower" - 6:42
  11. "Satin Doll" (Ellington, Strayhorn, Johnny Mercer) - 5:23
  12. "Summary" (Hicks) - 4:56

Personnel[edit]

Production[edit]

  • Cecil Brooks III - producer
  • Dino DeStefano - engineer

References[edit]

  1. ^ John Hicks discography accessed February 25, 2015
  2. ^ a b Roberts, J., AllMusic Review, accessed February 25, 2015
  3. ^ Jenkins, W., JazzTimes Review, December 1999
  4. ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 700. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.