Oliver Nelson's Blues and the Abstract Truth, Take 2, with Bill Cunliffe Septet

Oliver Nelson’s The Blues and the Abstract Truth is a jazz classic, and pianist/arranger Bill Cunliffe’s The Blues and the Abstract Truth, Take 2 offers a thoughtful 21st-century reinterpretation. Cunliffe retains the original sequence while reorchestrating the music with altered harmonies, unexpected rhythmic spaces, and different instrumental colors, giving the familiar pieces a fresh, sometimes edgy character. He also adds originals, “Port Authority” and “Mary Lou’s Blues,” the latter a graceful tribute to his teacher Mary Lou Williams.