Original Album Classics

After reissuing virtually every recording in their catalog by pianist Michel Petrucciani, the Dreyfus label followed up with a considerably more compact and affordable selection in the form of the Original Album Classics five-CD set. Conference de Presse, which dates from 1994, is an album of piano and organ duets with Parisian keyboardist Eddy Louiss. Flamingo, from 1995, finds Petrucciani in the company of violinist Stéphane Grappelli, bassist George Mraz, and drummer Roy Haynes. The rest of the material in this set traces back to the years 1996-1997. Trio in Tokyo provides evidence of the collaborative communion between Petrucciani, drummer Steve Gadd, and bassist Anthony Jackson. This threesome formed the nucleus of the ensemble heard on Both Worlds, with the addition of saxophonist Stefano di Battista, trumpeter Flavio Boltro, and valve trombonist Bob Brookmeyer, who also acted as arranger on this album. Solo Live taps into Petrucciani's one-man performance at a concert hall in Frankfurt, Germany, which rounds out the package very nicely. Taking into account the amount of recording that Petrucciani did for Dreyfus, this is a nice little taste. The truly smitten may want or need to save up for the 14-piece mothership box known as The Complete Dreyfus Jazz Recordings, a ten-album retrospective garnished with two DVDs.