Interpretations, Vol. 1 is the first of a two-volume set of the best of Tobin Mueller's "piano covers." If you are not familiar with Tobin, he is a one-of-a-kind artist whose music knows no boundaries and rarely fits neatly into any one genre. I've been reviewing Tobin's albums for going on twenty years, and I still never know what to expect when he sends me new music to review. Over the past few years, he has been compiling the best of his many recordings, remastering and remixing his favorites, sometimes making major changes to the pieces before grouping them into collections that include "Jazz Originals," "Jazz Arrangements," "Vocals," "Prog Fusion," "Chill," and the two-volume "At the Piano." Compilation albums sometimes feel very uneven because of changes in recording technology over the years as well as having recorded on several different pianos. The piano sounds on Tobin's recent collections are seamless and the tracks flow very smoothly from one to the next, sounding fresh and new. The music on this album includes "interpretations" of classical pieces as well as jazz standards, and a Christmas tune. It's not often that you hear music by Bach, Chopin, Paul Desmond, Hoagy Carmichael, and Debussy on one album, but here you go!

The album begins with "Fantasy on Étude in C Minor, Op. 10, No. 12," which is based on Chopin's "Revolutionary Étude." Definitely more jazz than classical, it's an interpretation I'm sure Chopin would enjoy and lets the listener know right away that this album is going to be very different. "Prelude No. 21 in Bb Major" is based on JS Bach's work from The Well-Tempered Clavier and highlights Tobin's exceptional playing technique. Light and lively, it's a favorite. "Golliwog's Cakewalk" was Claude Debussy's take on ragtime piano, and Tobin's arrangement is whimsical with just a bit of funk. "Fly Me To the Moon" was originally titled "In Other Words" and is considered a jazz standard. The melody is very familiar for the first couple of "verses," becoming more animated and "interpreted" until near the end, when it simplifies back to the melody. The melody for "The First Noël" is played in the lower half of the piano while the right hand plays rapid patterns in the upper octaves that sound to me like dancing snowflakes - very joyful and uplifting! "Georgia On My Mind" is one of my favorite jazz standards, and Tobin plays it slowly and with a lot of soul. The melody of "Fantasy on Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 in G major: Prelude, BWV 1007" is recognizable throughout this interpretation, but is definitely modernized and re-imagined. "Take Five" is a new edit of Tobin's performance with his drummer on his Standard Deviations album, this time a piano solo. While staying true to Dave Brubeck's famous hit, Tobin makes it his own - also a favorite. Tobin closes the album with an improvisation based on JS Bach's "Air on the G String" - very free and gently hypnotic. It's a great ending to a fascinating and very enjoyable album!

Interpretations, Vol. 1 is available digitally from Amazon, Apple Music/iTunes and many streaming sites including Spotify. There is also more information about the music on Tobin's website. Check it out!