Ethan Leinwand • The Low-Down Piano

When it comes to performing music from the 1920s and ’30s, there are several viable approaches. Some musicians closely copy the arrangements and sometimes the solos of the original recordings. Others take aspects of the earlier renditions while they modernize the music overall. This fairly recent recording by pianist Ethan Leinwand takes a third approach, reviving the older tunes while being creative within the classic style.Ethan Leinwand performs music that makes the distinction between early jazz, boogie-woogie, and blues seem artificial. A self-described barrelhouse blues pianist based in St. Louis, his playing can easily pass for a 1930s Chicago musician recording for the Bluebird label. He has named such pianists as Little Brother Montgomery, Black Bob, Jimmy Yancey, Peetie Wheatstraw, Albert Ammons, and Carl Sonny Leyland as among his influences and he has blended them altogether to achieve his own individual voice.On The Low-Down Piano, a set of 16 often-rollicking piano solos, Leinwand plays pieces by such notables as Montgomery, Yancey, Henry Brown, Robert Shaw, Romeo Nelson, Jabo Williams, and Montana Taylor. On “Cuttin’(and Pastin’) The Boogie,” he combines numbers by Albert Ammons and Cripple Clarence Lofton while “Cripple Cow Cow Blues” is a combination of Lofton and Cow Cow Davenport.Throughout the set, Ethan Leinwand plays with plenty of spirit while disp
You've read three articles this month! That makes you one of a rare breed, the true jazz fan!

The Syncopated Times is a monthly publication covering traditional jazz, ragtime and swing. We have the best historic content anywhere, and are the only American publication covering artists and bands currently playing Hot Jazz, Vintage Swing, or Ragtime. Our writers are legends themselves, paid to bring you the best coverage possible. Advertising will never be enough to keep these stories coming, we need your SUBSCRIPTION. Get unlimited access for $30 a year or $50 for two.

Not ready to pay for jazz yet? Register a Free Account for two weeks of unlimited access without nags or pop ups.

Already Registered? Log In

If you shouldn't be seeing this because you already logged in try refreshing the page.

Since 1975 Scott Yanow has been a regular reviewer of albums in many jazz styles. He has written for many jazz and arts magazines, including JazzTimes, Jazziz, Down Beat, Cadence, CODA, and the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, and was the jazz editor for Record Review. He has written an in-depth biography on Dizzy Gillespie for AllMusic.com. He has authored 11 books on jazz, over 900 liner notes for CDs and over 20,000 reviews of jazz recordings.

Yanow was a contributor to and co-editor of the third edition of the All Music Guide to Jazz. He continues to write for Downbeat, Jazziz, the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, the Jazz Rag, the New York City Jazz Record and other publications.

Or look at our Subscription Options.