Hey, Lover - Johnny Guarnierei

All That Jazz

It's A Swing Thing

Hey, Lover
Johnny Guarnierei
Johnny Guarnierei and His Piano and Orchestra
RKO Records SLP-1002
1959

From the back cover: You take one great jazz pianist; 1 bass; 1 guitar; 2 drummers; all of whom are tops in their fields, mix well with a good interpretation and you have the solid combination featured in this album, Hey, Lover.

Johnny Guarnieri, whom RKO Records is fortunate to have as the jazz pianist, comes from a family of find violin-makers. As a result he was exposed to classical music during his early years and due to his training and background, is equally at ease playing Mozart as well as popular music. Johnny's first love, however, has always been jazz. America's own musical creation. He employed all the elements pop his vast talents into his jazz interpretations and styling and it wasn't long before the name of Johnny Guarnieri was synonymous with smooth, rhythmical keyboard magic. Johnny worked with Benny Goodman and later joined Artie Shaw, where he was a prime factor in setting the style of the popular Gramercy Five. "All That Jazz," contained in this album, is a fine example of the Guarnieri mood set to his own musical composition.

Musical improvisation, which can only be handled by the best of musicians, is one of the delights of all jazz-happy enthusiasts. In this album, Johnny puts his mastery of the difficult feat of improvisation into action, backed by a truly creative group of boys who complement his own musical ability. Much in demand by theaters, studios and nightclub owners everywhere, they include Eddie Safranski doing the mellow bass work; Mundell Lowe, jazz guitarist supreme and the swinging drummers, Cliff Lehman and Frank Aristo, Jr., who take turns upholding the driving beat of the drum work.

As all true artists, Johnny and the boys blend light but difficult jazz motifs into all the numbers with what seems like a minimum of effort. The rhythmical lift is sustained throughout all the selection, providing the type of music which will bring to mind  favorite night spots, be they sophisticated cocktail lounges, soft lit dinner dancing hide-a-ways or collegiate type rathskellers.

For you, Hey, Lover is an album which you'll want to play again and again and one well worth having for any occasion.

From Billboard - March 9, 1959: This low price stereo disk contains some fine piano work by Johnny Guarnierei, accompanied by a talented group of jazz musicians. The tunes are mainly standards, including "More Than You Know," "Body And Soul," "Lover" and "Tea for Two." Stereo separation is good and the LP is a good buy for the money.

Anything For You
More Than You Know
It's A Swinging Thing
Body And Soul
All That Jazz
Keyboard Rhythm
Lover Classical Exercise
Tea For Two There's A Small Hotel