Very Well and Good Richard Whiteman

• 1 Very Well and Good 05:22
• 2 Not so Early 04:41
• 3 Re-entry 06:09
• 4 Waltz for Zeke 03:51
• 5 It Is What It Is (for John Sumner) 02:14
• 6 Selohssa 07:09
• 7 Residue 05:34
• 8 Mangoes 04:48
• 9 Pat & Mike 07:27
• 10 La Belle Époche 04:32
• 11 Right Here, Right Now, With You 04:27
• 12 Dancing with Zeke 06:21
• Total Runtime 01:02:35

Info for Very Well and Good

Richard Whiteman is a multi-instrumentalist based in Toronto, Canada. One of the busiest pianists on the Toronto scene, Whiteman has long been sought out by many of the finest names in jazz, including Don Thompson, Reg Schwager, Jane Bunnett, Norm Villleneuve, Ed Bickert and Al Henderson. Richard has recorded ten CDs as a bandleader and has established himself as one of Canada’s finest musicians in a performing role and as a mentor and teacher to younger musicians.

After working as a pianist for decades, Whiteman began studying the double bass in 2004, quickly becoming an adept performer. In 2012, he formed his “bass” quartet with Reg Schwager, Amanda Tosoff and Morgan Childs – the band that forms the backbone for his brilliant new album Very Well and Good. The quartet is joined on several tracks by tenor saxophone giants Pat Labarbera and Mike Murley in a program of striking Whiteman originals, a tune each from Tosoff and engineer/drummer/pianist Andre White, and one classic standard.

Whiteman considers this recording to be his finest and most personal to date. On this album, the band successfully combines the directness and groove of straight ahead swinging jazz with the lyricism and textural beauty found in classical music and in the music of pianist Bill Evans. It is a snapshot of a fine working band at the height of its powers, and a beautiful addition to the Canadian jazz canon.

"La Belle Époche is another waltz, but a peppier one with a more interesting melody and interesting harmonic twists—not to mention several tempo shifts to 4. Right Here, Right Now With You is a bossa nova in the Jobim manner, opening with soft but rhythmic guitar chords and followed by Tosoff on piano with Childs playing woodblocks. The closer, Dancing With Zeke, is more of a swing than a bop piece, somewhat reminiscent of the kind of tunes that George Shearing played so often back in the 1950s. A nice album, then, particularly worth hearing for Whiteman, Tosoff and the two saxists." (Lynn René Bayley, artmusiclounge)

Reg Schwager, guitar
Amanda Tosof, piano
Richard Whiteman, double bass
Morgan Childs, drums
Special guests:
Pat LaBarbera, saxophone
Mike Murley, saxophone

Richard Whiteman
Toronto native Richard Whiteman is an extremely versatile player, fluent in styles ranging from the stride masters of the twenties, through Bud Powell and Bill Evans, to modern giants like Keith Jarrett and Herbie Hancock. As a leader, he has released five CDs (with a sixth on the way), and has received raves from as far away as Japan, where his “GROOVEYARD” disc was rated one of the Top 500 Jazz Piano Trio records of all time.

For over twenty years, Richard has performed at major Toronto jazz venues, and has also played with orchestras (The Canada Pops Orchestra) and big bands (including The Dave McMurdo Jazz Orchestra), in new music concerts (Hemispheres Music Projects), classical crossover groups (The Galaxy Trio) and musical theatre (“Forever Plaid”), and at countless “casual” engagements with Canada’s finest jazz musicians. He has also toured Canada with his trio and performed in Brazil, Egypt and San Antonio, Texas.

Some of the stellar musicians Richard has worked with are Don Thompson, Kenny Wheeler, Marcus Belgrave, Pat LaBarbera, Ken Peplowski, Nick Brignola, Ed Bickert, Jane Bunnett and Dutch Django-style star, Tim Kliphuis. As well as leading his own groups, Richard is a member of the The Al Henderson Quintet and is much in demand by vocalists, including John Alcorn, Jackie Richardson, Dee Daniels, Bonnie Brett and Heather Bambrick.

In addition to his busy club, corporate and touring schedule, Richard is also an educator, teaching jazz piano and leading ensembles at both Humber College and York University in Toronto.

“In addition to his evident skills as a pianist, Whiteman has a knack for composition, crafting bold post-bop tunes and elegant ballads that feel right at home with the group’s versions of standards.” – Stuart Broomer, Toronto Life

This album contains no booklet.