Dutch Treat Pia Beck

 

Lullaby Of Birdland

Dutch Treat 

Pia Beck

Epic Records LN 3269

1956

From the back cover: Among the most individual of the foreign-born ladies who have lately been astounding American ears with their remarkable command of swinging piano is Pia Beck, the Dutch queen of the keyboard. One of the first to make a tour of this country, Miss Beck displayed a cooly extraordinary command of piano technique, a full understanding of what popular music as about, and a voice of distinctly incendiary quality. Naturally her triumph was immediate, and she has returned frequently ever since, most recently in the season just past, when her fame was spread even farther in the medium of national magazine.

Although clearly identifiable as a Continental style, the presentation of Pia Beck is grounded in American principals and notable for its virtuosity. She can stroke the keys for mood music with the most accomplished of the show-tune school, and she can let loose with a light, rocking item just as easily, a switch that may be something of a surprise to those who think of the Dutch as a phlegmatic race. There is warmth in her singing, too, lacquered over by an intriguing accent that lends considerable force to her phrasing. In this collection, she offers a dozen striking examples of her splendid talent, taking off from predominantly familiar tunes, and gives a shining summation of her musical thinking.

Miss Beck was born in The Hague in 1925. When she was eight, her parents bought a piano and set her to work studying, the latter a superfluous effort. Young Pia was gifted with a musical mind that in those days outstripped her technique, and she learned the fundamentals so quickly that most of her learning was done by ear. She has held to that system ever since, and has found int especially adaptable to her kind of music; improvisation is an important factor in her work.

Upon completing her secondary education, she furthered confounded her family by joining a Hawaiian band. In 1944, at nineteen, she joined with Ab de Molenaar's Miller Sextet and set out on a tour of American Military bases in Germany, delighting soldiers who had earlier become a little jaded by European versions of Pistol Packin' Mama and In The Mood. Pia Beck's light-fingered performances came to them like a breath of home, and her career got off to a firm start. Later with the same group she toured Sweden, and in 1948 and 1949, went through Indonesia. In 1949, on her return, she formed her own small group and began playing at the Vliegende Hollander, an Amsterdam nightclub. Since that time she has won wide acclaim for her work, and has captivated British audiences as well as her American and Dutch fans.

This program, a cross-section of the delightful Beck versatility, presents her as pianist and vocalist, with two numbers – So This Is Love and Two Lives Have I – standing as solo items. Accompanying Miss Beck on several of her numbers are three sterling American musicians who have worked with her in this country – Milt Hinton on bass, Osie Johnson on drums and Barry Galbraith on guitar.

From Billboard - November 13, 1956: A moderate sale may be forecast for this one, Pia Beck's style tho Continental, has clearly an American flavor as well. This is particularly true in her piano work, which is swinging and modern. On several of the numbers three Americans accompany Miss Beck – M. Hinton on bass, O. Johnson on drums and B. Galbraith on guitar. Songs include "Just A Gigolo," "Gone With The Wind," "Lullaby Of Birdland," etc.

Just A Gigolo

Gone With The Wind

Lullaby Of Birdland

I'm Feeling Like A Stranger

Dancing On The Ceiling

So This Is Love

She's Funny That Way

Have A Good Time

Two Loves Have I

You Better Go Now

Congratulations To Someone

Baby Don't Be Mad At Me