(Wilderjazz)

Beautiful Jazz is a magical music excursion courtesy of the talented fingers of pianist Christian Jacob. This solo effort is an immersive and mesmerizing aural experience. The acoustics of the recording give you the sense of virtually being in the room as it’s being made. Jacob deftly finds the heart of each note. The musical menu here consists of standards by the likes of Rodgers and Hammerstein, Kern and Mercer, The Gershwin Brothers and Coltrane, among others. Jacob, who hails from France, is a classically-trained pianist who had his artistic life altered by hearing Dave Brubeck on the radio at the age of 9, a fortunate happenstance as lovers of piano jazz and beautiful ballads can attest upon hearing this outstanding production.