''The Place to Be '' is an album by pianist Benny Green which was recorded in 1994 and released on the

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical c ...

label.

Reception

The

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

review by Scott Yanow stated: "Benny Green continued to show gradual growth throughout the 1990s. For this outing with his 1994 trio, Green shows off the influence of Oscar Peterson and other predecessors, but also displays his own musical voice during a mixture of originals, jazz standards and lesser-known tunes. ... Overall, this CD is an excellent example of Benny Green's playing and writing talents". On

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

, William Grimm observed: "Benny Green is a consummate jazz pianist. He’s mastered all the past styles from Kansas City stride to Bill Evans to bebop and beyond and he’s taking the music to heights unknown. ''The Place To Be'' is just that, the place where everyone who appreciates great jazz will want to be".Grimm, W
All About Jazz Review
accessed July 20, 2018

Track listing

:''All compositions by Benny Green, except where indicated.'' # "Nice Pants" – 5:58 # "Playmate" – 2:30 # "I Want to Talk About You" ( Billy Eckstine) – 6:58 # "The Place to Be" – 3:10 # "I Felt That" – 5:12 # " Pensativa" (

Clare Fischer Douglas Clare Fischer (October 22, 1928 – January 26, 2012) was an American keyboardist, composer, arranger, and bandleader. After graduating from Michigan State University (from which, five decades later, he would receive an honorary doctorat ...

) – 6:15 # "One of Another Kind" ( Freddie Hubbard) – 5:55 # "Which Came First?" – 5:22 # "Noreen's Nocturne" (

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards ...

) – 3:28 # "Concertina" – 7:13 # "Gravy Waltz" (

Steve Allen Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television personality, radio personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-cre ...

, Ray Brown) – 2:28 # "

The Folks Who Live on the Hill "The Folks Who Live on the Hill" is a 1937 popular song composed by Jerome Kern, with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was introduced by Irene Dunne in the 1937 film '' High, Wide, and Handsome'' and was recorded that year by Bing Crosby for D ...

" (

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in ove ...

, Oscar Hammerstein II) – 4:10

Personnel

* Benny Green – piano *

Christian McBride Christian McBride (born May 31, 1972) is an American jazz bassist, composer and arranger. He has appeared on more than 300 recordings as a sideman, and is an eight-time Grammy Award winner. McBride has performed and recorded with a number of j ...

– bass (tracks 1-3, 5-8, 10 & 12) * Kenny Washington – drums (tracks 1-3, 5-8, 10 & 12) * Byron Stripling – trumpet (tracks 1, 3 & 5) *

Delfeayo Marsalis Delfeayo Marsalis (; born July 28, 1965) is an American jazz trombonist, record producer and educator. Life and career Marsalis was born in New Orleans, the son of Dolores (née Ferdinand) and Ellis Louis Marsalis, Jr., a pianist and music pro ...

– trombone (tracks 1, 3 & 5) * John Clark – French horn (tracks 1, 3 & 5) *Herb Besson – tuba (tracks 1, 3 & 5) *

Jerry Dodgion Jerry Dodgion (born August 29, 1932) is an American jazz saxophonist and flautist. Dodgion was born in Richmond, California. He played alto sax in middle school and began working locally in the San Francisco area in the 1950s. He played in bands w ...

– flute, alto flute, alto saxophone (tracks 1, 3 & 5) * Gary Smulyan – baritone saxophone(tracks 1, 3 & 5) * Bob Belden – arranger (tracks 1, 3 & 5)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Place to Be, The 1994 albums Benny Green (pianist) albums Blue Note Records albums Albums recorded at Van Gelder Studio