The Piano Song

aking The Piano Sing ans' ability to radically remake standard tunes by i most deft and subtle of alterations was legendary, d his own compositions have stood the test of re. His best-known originals include 'Blue In een' (jointly credited to Miles Davis), 'Waltz For bby', 'Comrad Conrad', 'Peace Piece', 'Detour tead', 'Funkallero', 'Interplay', 'NYC's No Lark' t anagram of the name of pianist Sonny Clark, d a tribute to his memory), 'Laurie', 'Re: Person mew' (another anagram, of producer Orrin Keepnews), 'Song For Helen', 'Time Remembered' and 'We Will Meet Again'. He experimented with a Fender Rhodes electric piano in the 1970s, but his music is inextricably welded to the sonority of the acoustic piano, and his ability to make that instrument sing lay at the heart of his achievement. He acquired a heroin addiction while serving in the US Army, and was plagued with drug problems and ill-health at various times in his career. He died in New York in September 1980, having done much to redefine the art of the piano trio.