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Track 8 - 'Tis (Thad Jones) Composer: Flanagan; T. Jones; Green-Heyman; Gershwin; M. Ellington; Evans-Livingston; McIntosh; Porter; Jacquet-Russell-Thompson
Two of the greatest jazz pianists of the last half century, Tommy Flanagan (1930-2001) and Sir Roland Hanna (1932-2002) first met as teenagers in Detroit in the 1940s and they remained friends and colleagues for 60 years. Their careers had many parallels, and brought them world-wide acclaim and affection. Flanagan became the pianist of choice for many of the leading jazz musicians of the 1950s participating in dozens of landmark recording sessions, such as John Coltrane's "Giant Steps" and Sonny Rollin's "Saxophone Colossus". He was also music director for Ella Fitzgerald. Hanna's path was more circuitous, involving the Army and the Eastman School of Music and Juilliard, then being hired by the likes of Benny Goodman and Charles Mingus and, most memorably , the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Band.
In their playing, both Flanagan and Hanna demonstrated many of the same characteristics - complete command of the instrument, great intelligence, an amazing ear, perfect time and the ability to truly improvise without having to fall back on cliches and repetitive phrasing. They were also never afraid to take chances, and never played the same way twice.
In the summer of 2002. just six months after Tommy's death and sadly a few months before his own, Roland recorded this tribute to his friend and colleague, and it serves as a testament to both great artists.