· Collectors Edition
· New liner notes
· Issued in Digipack
· Full original album
· Bonus Tracks
· Hi Fi Recordings
· Newly Remastered
With Improvisations by the Don Shirley Duo, this collection completes a trilogy of recordings that capture the duo’s full body of work. Alongside Tonal Expressions and Piano Perspectives, this album further showcases Shirley’s unparalleled ability to blend jazz, classical, and popular traditions into a singular musical language—one that made him the latest piano sensation. In 1955, Igor Stravinsky praised Don Shirley’s extraordinary talent, declaring, “His virtuosity is worthy of gods.”
Much like the previous albums, Improvisations captures the brilliance of Shirley’s partnership with bassist Richard Davis. The interplay between them is as dynamic as ever—Shirley’s Debussyesque piano renditions of popular themes find a perfect complement in Davis’s inventive, agile bass lines. Together, they create interpretations that are fresh, sophisticated, and deeply expressive—something of a sensation among the New York society-jazz scene, particularly in supper clubs and café circles.
With this second volume, the complete recordings of the Don Shirley Duo are now available, forming a trilogy that reaffirms Shirley’s place as one of the most distinctive and sophisticated pianists of his time. His music remains timeless—a reminder that true artistry knows no boundaries.
—Jordi Pujol
