Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music

Terry Trotter abandons his usual jazz trio for this solo piano exploration of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music. It thus has more of a classical feel, an appropriate treatment for Sondheim's operetta-like original score. Trotter's arrangements range from the rollicking "Night Waltz" and the funky "Remember" to the hypnotic patterns of "Later" and the piano arpeggios (the stage character was practicing piano) of "The Glamorous Life (Stage Version)." Most notable, however, are the ballads, and Trotter brings out all the lyric beauty of "Night Waltz II," the movie version of "The Glamorous Life," and the inevitable "Send in the Clowns." A gem. --David Horiuchi