Album Notes

Following on the critically acclaimed rhythms of "Jazz Jubilee," Martine Avenue Productions is releasing a new compilation CD of classic jazz recordings by the Dudley Moore Trio. As in "Jazz Jubilee," standards and original compositions are juxtaposed in a dazzling parade of Dudley's remarkable talents - sometimes virtuosic, sometimes introspective, sometimes romantic, but always leaving you wanting Moore.

This remarkable renaissance man began playing jazz in the basement of Peter Cook's new comedy night spot, The Establishment Club in Soho, London, while still in his twenties. London audiences therefore had two opportunities every night to applaud this up and coming young performer - onstage in the groundbreaking comedy revue "Beyond the Fringe" and after the show in the basement of The Establishment Club. Having spent a short time playing with both the Vic Lewis and the Johnny Dankworth big bands, Dudley returned to a more intimate setting and formed the Dudley Moore Trio. In this format he could shine and also experiment by introducing elements of his two strongest influences-- Erroll Garner and Oscar Peterson - with a little Bach thrown in just to remind his audiences that he was also a highly accomplished, classically trained pianist.

Over the next thirty years or so the Trio was to remain his favourite jazz medium for live performances, studio recordings, and world tours. Throughout his career as a film actor, a television comedian, a composer and a classical pianist, jazz was woven as a very bright thread into the fabric of his life.

Dudley Moore formed Martine Avenue Productions for the specific purpose of producing his recorded works. The company is proud to be continuing that mandate by releasing this latest recording of his creative genius. As with all projects of Martine Avenue Productions,proceeds from the CD will help to support two organizations that were close to Dudley's heart--Music For All Seasons, taking live professional musicians into all types of residential facilities, and the Dudley Moore Research Fund for PSP, helping to find a cure for the neurological condition that took his life on March 27, 2002.