THE RIGHT SETTING

At the height of Jimmy Amadie’s career, he has a major setback. He developed tendonitis in his hands and  for several decades he stopped playing. He loved working. He was known to work 70-hour wor weeks. 

Amadie was the go to jazz piano player for some great jazz saxophone players. Coleman Hawkins and Phil Woods had him on speed dial.

Amadie kept busy writing music and music books. It took many operations to fix his hands. He slowly rehabilitated them, gradually moved back into the public eye. He put out some good jazz albums such Let’s Groove and Savoring Every Note.

Today, Amadie new album Something Special is on sale. It’s a jazz trio album, and the right setting to hear him. Amadie is a conservative jazz piano player who never takes stupid risks. Amadie is comfortable playing any tempo. Bass player Tony Marino is a natural born jump.

Marino displays that on Get Happy, but Amadie never allows Marino to get carried away. Amadie's drummer, Bill Goodwin, has a cooling in the shade style. Goodwin never makes a fuss.

Amadie has a ball playing the timeless standards on Something Special. On My Funny Valentine and Sweet Lorraine, Amadie play warm opening passages. His fingers seem to melt all over the piano keys like butter on a stack of pancakes. Something Special is a clean cut jazz trio date you’ll never grow tired of hearing.