Saloon Songs [Alf:98-EP68107]

Charming melodies from the jazz master capture the style of the early 20th Century dances, which are updated with mid-20th century harmonies (including dramatic chromaticisms, and passages reminiscent of Leonard Bernstein's music). Hersch says of his work: 'The inspiration for 'Saloon Songs' comes from my colorful mental images of Lower Manhattan in the early part of the 20t20th Century...'Four-Part Slow Drag' is sweet and a bit melancholy. 'The Last Call Waltz' is a darkly comic evocation of the last, slightly desperate moments of an inebriated patron's evening at a downtown saloon. And 'The Bowery Rag' is in classic ragtime form.' Intermediate level, with some 10ths in the left hand.