The distinguished classical pianist Mark Latimer (Adrian Boult, Vilem Tausky, Paul Tortelier, Campoli and the Amadeus and Brodsky Quartets) makes his debut jazz recording with an album of standards and covers. Accompanying him are bassist Mick Hutton, saxophonist/flautist Andy Panayi and bassist Andy Clyndert, among others.

"Mark Latimer is a distinguished classical pianist whose technique has been compared to that of Horowitz. He was performed with Adrian Boult, Vilem Tausky, Paul Tortelier, Campoli and the Amadeus and Brodsky Quartets, to name a few. He makes a speciality of complex and difficult works, such as the Alkan and Busoni concertos, widely considered to be virtually unplayable and has recorded the complete Reger Variations and Fugues. He was a professor at the London College of Music before the age of 20 and currently teaches at the University of Wales.
Mark Latimer is [also] a superb jazz pianist, as the music on this CD demonstrates."

- from the liner notes by Dave Gelly

Jazzwise Magazine (February 2001)
"Mind-blowing improvisations - unclassifiable"

The Independent
"Mark Latimer is the man who plays the Alkan Concerto for Solo Piano like a bat out of Hell - and from memory!"

The Independent (February 2001)
"Like a bat out of Hell - formidably gifted - a distinctly untamed spirit"

Jazz Review (March 2001)
"Startlingly original - you find yourself holding your breath"

Jazz Journal Inyernational (June 2001)
"Top-class contemporary post-bop piano - superb touch and feel from Latimer - recommended with no reservations whatsoever"

Time Out (February 2001)
"British music's enfant terrible"

The Guardian
"A firestorm of sound! Breathtaking - the piano sounded like an orchestra in Latimer's hands."

The Daily Telegraph
"He possesses all the qualities required by so formidable a task and confirmed his refusal to be intimidated by the most hair-raising difficulties imaginable"

The Sunday Times
"Like an explosion in a munitions factory"

The Times
"Superhuman"

Recorded 1998

Personnel:
Mark Latimer (piano), Mick Hanson (guitar), Mick Hutton (bass), Trevor Tomkins (drums), Andy Panayi (flute, tenor saxophone), Andy Clyndert (bass), Hal Fisher (drums)