Jazz : Hyman: A Pianist to Treasure

“We should designate this guy a national treasure,” said one listener after a solo piano recital Friday by Dick Hyman at Le Cafe in Sherman Oaks.

Indeed we should. Hyman is a phenomenon whose taste, imagination and limitless technique have enabled him to become, if not a totally personalized stylist, a unique encyclopedist whose work brings together characteristics of many of the giants who preceded him.

One hears in him many runs that imply his assiduous study of Art Tatum, stride passages a la Fats Waller, right-hand octave sequences such as Earl Hines originated and elaborate introductions of the kind nobody since Erroll Garner has devised. The genius of Hyman brings together these qualities and his own melodic and harmonic concepts to create a fascinating whole.

Because he is out here to record an Ellington album, the Duke and Billy Strayhorn took up much of his time at the two Friday sets. Hyman chose two of the hardest pieces Ellington ever wrote: the partly atonal “Clothed Woman” and the witty “Tonk.” The latter was originally a piano duet by Ellington and Strayhorn (and that’s how Hyman will record it, by overdubbing the second part), but even as a solo it captured the special charm of this melodic multiple layer cake.

“Prelude to a Kiss” (played partly as a waltz), “Warm Valley” and “Lush Life” took on new life under Hyman’s professorial scrutiny. Even “Caravan,” normally a bore, acquired a fresh, zesty character.

Hyman’s left hand is a marvel; at times it will play a counter-melody no less central to the performance than his right hand variations on the theme. His re-harmonization of Thad Jones’ “A Child Is Born” and Harold Arlen’s “Devil on the Deep Blue Sea” brought out this aspect.

Two nights in a small room in Sherman Oaks seemed to be the limit of this New Yorker’s rare visits. Next time he deserves a concert hall, or at least a club large enough to attract his admirers, who include every other pianist in town.